'Footloose: The Musical' about ready to cut loose

By Scott Wright

CENTRE — Come Thursday, it will be time for fans of a local theater troupe to kick off their Sunday shoes.

“Footloose: The Musical,” based on the 1984 hit film starring Kevin Bacon and John Lithgow, opens Thursday at 7 p.m. The production, presented by TheaterCentre Director Gary Davis and a cast and crew of local talent, runs through Sunday at the Centre First Methodist Church fellowship hall.

Cherokee County High School senior Jessie Kisor headlines the cast as Ren McCormack, the role played by Bacon in the movie.

“Jessie is a rising senior,” Davis said. “He had one of our starring roles in last year's school production of 'Hello, Dolly!' He's very talented.”

The musical, about a streetwise kid from Chicago who travels to Kansas with his mother to begin a new life after his father leaves home, will be staged in two 50-minute acts with a 20-minute intermission.

“The kid likes to dance and when he gets to this little mid-western town he discovers there's a law against dancing,” Davis explained. “So the whole show is about this tension that arises between the minister of the local church and this kid about whether or not they are going to change the law against dancing.”

Davis said Derrick Steed, who plays the part of Rev. Shaw Moore (Lithgow's role) will be making his acting debut.

“He's sung in a lot of the local churches, but this will be his first theater appearance,” Davis said. “He's going to do very well.”

Davis said everyone who sees "Footloose" will be amazed at the level of talent that exists in Cherokee County.

“These are people that you know, friends and neighbors,” he said. “There's no substitute for seeing someone you know on the stage to light you up. And that's what happens with this cast.”

Davis said in addition to singing, there's also a good bit of dancing in this musical.

“The choreography in this show is better than any of the shows we've ever done before,” Davis said. “Our choreographer is Chad Steed and he's just very, very talented. And our music is the music from the movie -- all those good rock and roll songs.”

Unlike previous TheaterCentre efforts, “Footloose” will feature over a dozen songs performed by a live band.

“Shane Givens plays Cowboy Bob and is the unofficial leader of our five-member band,” Davis said. “And the music really makes the show come alive. I just can't tell you how talented they are.”

In addition to Givens, who plays keyboard, the band features Jason LeCroy on lead guitar, Larry Sanford on drums, Jesse Scroggin on bass and Ronny Kisor on rhythm guitar.

“The live music really brings a new aspect to the production,” Davis said. “Previously, we've used a performance track on compact disc and the music was always the same and everybody simply adjusted. With a live band, it's always a little bit different and the cast really seems to like that.”

Davis said work on “Footloose” began the first week on June with practice three nights a week. For the past two weeks, the cast and crew have been rehearsing four nights a week.

Davis had high praise for the behind-the-scenes crew in charge of running spotlights, designing sets, changing sets, etc.

“Bob Bright -- we call him Bob the Builder -- is our construction guy, and Joy Perry has worked hard to help get out sets put together,” Davis said. “Lori Hays, Wilma Minnix and Dana Early have worked with our vocals, helping to get everything just right.”

Davis said tickets for each performance will go on sale at the fellowship hall entrance about 40 minutes prior to show time. Cost is $10 each and the proceeds are used to help pay for license fees, production costs and prepare for the next TheaterCentre performance.

“That's coming up pretty soon,” Davis said. “We'll be doing “Don't You Just Love Christmas' in November.”

Davis encouraged anyone interested in supporting theater in Cherokee County to contact him at 927-9615 to learn more about TheaterCentre's patrons program, which features a variety of price ranges and seating packages.