In what has become a common theme in musical theater, Footloose the Musical is based on the motion picture that made Kevin Bacon and his extremely tight jeans into a major star during the 1980s. Bacon portrayed Ren, a city kid who has to live in Bible Belt country where dancing is forbidden. He takes on religion, the local minster and the city council, all because he wants to thrust his groin into the air. In the end, Ren succeeds and they hold a dance in a warehouse, sprinkle some glitter on the sawdust floor, and shake their groove thang—all the while wearing hideous prom gowns and lame tuxedos that would make Carrie White torch the place down for such vile fashion sense. But that's a different movie. And musical.

Footloose opened at the Richard Rodgers Theater in October 1998, and danced to the tune of 709 performances, closing in July 2000. After I saw that production, I walked away with an enjoyment of the dancing and the star-making performance of Jeremy Kushnier (Ren). A year later when I saw the national tour, I only enjoyed the dancing.

While hearing the well-known tunes from the film's soundtrack is fun, what whacks off the dancing legs of this musical are the horrendous book and the new songs, which serve only as bland, colorless filler.

The book is completely spineless in emotional strength and substance needed to invest interest or feel for the characters. You just sit in the dark waiting for one of those famous hit singles to pop up. The majority of the new songs stop the action dead in its tracks, not enhancing the storyline or the characterizations. Alas, Footloose is one of those "jukebox" musicals that fails miserably.

Repertory Company Theatre decided to attempt to breathe life into this jukebox musical, but can only sustain a slightly beating heart. While I applaud them, and sincerely wish nothing but great success to the company, this production carries quite an armful of problems.

First of all, the sound design just wreaks havoc on the production. The body mics pop constantly throughout the evening. I don't know if it's the design of the mic, but they pick up every loud breath and bump, resulting in loud, intrusive bangs and pops all night long. Another glaring design problem is the video screen that hangs dead center. Throughout the show, various pictures pop up on the screen, but, due to the lights on stage, many of the pictures are washed out. It is obvious that this was designed to help the audience know where they are in the book scenes, but instead it serves as a glaring distraction. Then there is the taped music. I sincerely understand the challenge of today's rising cost of hiring musicians for an orchestra—it is expensive. But this is a musical, and you honestly need live music. From the actor's point of view, it completely cuts off the ability to be "in the moment" or explore a new emotion on subtext "live," right there on stage, in the middle of a song, because they have to stay with the tape's tempo. A good musical director knows how to follow the actors' emotions; a tape doesn't. Sadly, the orchestrations for the taped version make the music sound cheap, tinny and amateurish. This results in many of the ballads and up-tempo numbers having a tacky, lifeless vibe like a bad night of drunken karaoke. You need live, thumping drums to make the rock-flavored up-tempo numbers come alive.

Kim Buchly's choreography is pleasurable and does pump up the energy of the cast. The best choreographed number is the act one closer, "I'm Free," set in a gym (you may think for a second that High School Musical has accidentally slipped in).

There are some situations and changes within the show that I did find puzzling as the evening wore on, such as, why does the entire cast speak with such heavy, thick country accents? The show takes place in middle America, but subtlety would suffice here. At times some cast members sound like hillbilly Cletus from "The Simpsons." Another problem is during the number "Somebody's Eyes." The trio of girls and the cast hold umbrellas, and you hear the sound effects of rain. Then, out of nowhere, lights appear on a jeep as Ren is getting a ticket—but a bright, sunny glow of sunlight is bathing the cop and Ren. It doesn't help that they are not very far apart. Also it sounds like several songs were cut down drastically. I remember some numbers being longer with more verses and dance breaks, and here they seem whittled down.

Finally, in act two, the character Rusty has always been assigned the Denise Williams dance hit, "Let's Hear It For the Boy." She sings this to and about Willard and his lack of dancing skills. It's supposed to be a character song for her, to help cement her feelings toward Willard. In a perplexing twist, the song is now being sung by the waitress/singer named Irene. This just makes no sense whatsoever, and severely destroys the emotions and subtext needed to believe in Rusty and Willard's blossoming romance. The book sure as hell doesn't help this couple, but that song did.

Many in the cast provide pleasant performances, but quite a few of them struggle vocally. At times, performers are completely under pitch or are drowned out by the unbalanced sound of live voice and taped music—or the notes are too high or too low, resulting in some grappling with the music.

However, the acting of some thespians in this cast shines brightly. The best scene work is in the second act between Darin Fimple (Reverend Shaw Moore) and Ren (Curt Mega). Both actors play off each other beautifully as they discuss and argue about those who leave us. Fimple and Mega bring out touching and painful eloquence from their emotions, and the interaction between them rings with organic truth. Speaking of Mega ... as Ren, this talented actor carries the show well, although I fear the score is a bit out of his vocal range. But he does possess a striking stage presence and electrifying energy that never subsides.

Others providing audience-pleasing performances include Brittany Ryan Levraea (Ariel), Josh Hepola (Coach Dunbar), Loree Westbrooks (Eleanor Dunbar) and Laura Alley (Wendy Jo). Stealing the show is Drew Kelly as Willard. This actor has a firm grasp on how to create funny and thoroughly enjoyable characterizations with his keen sense of comedic timing, pace and delivery. Earlier this season he was a standout in All Shook Up, and he succeeds again here. Kelly has the best male singing voice on stage (which is a shame, since he only has two solos). He provides the right amount of jovial laughs in his second act number, "Mama Says," the best number of the evening.

Sadly, this production is weighed down with problems. But I hope you will take this into consideration and still snatch at ticket and see what you think. As I was leaving the theater, I overheard a man say to his wife, "That was quite good. I really enjoyed that." And isn't that what theater is meant to be—something to enjoy?

Footloose the Musical for Repertory Company Theatre through July 27, 2008. Courtyard Theatre, 1509 Ave H, Plano. Shows are Fri/Sat at 7:30pm Sun 2:00PM. Tickets are $20 adults/$18 seniors/$12 youth. Group rates available. For tickets call 972-690-5029 and for more information visit www.rcttheatre.com. Footloose the Musical
Stage adaptation by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie; Based on the Original Screenplay by Dean Pitchford; Music by Tom Snow; Lyrics by Dean Pitchford; Additional numbers by Kenny Loggins, Sammy Hagar, Jim Steinman and Eric Carmen; Additional lyrics by Kenny Loggins.
Repertory Company Theatre
Directed by Michelle Breedlove
Choreographed by Kim Buchly
Musical Direction by Lisa Apple
Lighting Design by Michelle Burdeaux
Scenic Design by Michelle Breedlove

--John Garcia