I can confirm this as well. My high school did the stage adaptation of the movie in 1989, with a large cast that even included one black guy, who, thankfully, played Leroy. If I remember correctly, it's a pretty straightforward transcription of the film script and is really not very good (or wasn't as presented by my high school).
FAME: THE MUSICAL came about a few years later and was "inspired" by the film, but with new characters and stories and an original score. There was a national tour the same season that the FOOTLOOSE tour was out and I seem to recall a sense of rivalry or competition between them as they seemed to be chasing the same demographic. There was a big push from the powers that were at FAME to make their show a thing, but the problem was that the film and TV series were mostly forgotten, even by the time I was in high school. FOOTLOOSE seemed to stay in the public consciousness in a way that FAME didn't. And, of course, FOOTLOOSE came with a Broadway imprimatur, even if the reviews weren't strong and the show was never a huge hit. It continued to tour non-union for years.
FAME: THE MUSICAL later played a brief off-Broadway run and then was gone. |
