Way Off Broadway to Present FOOTLOOSE, 6/15-8/25

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre is getting ready to cut loose this summer with the dance musical Footloose. The stage production, based on the Paramount Pictures film, will open at the Frederick theatre on Friday, June 15^th and run through August 25^th.

One of the most explosive movie musicals in recent memory bursts onto the live stage with exhilarating results. When Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, Ren is prepared for the inevitable adjustment period at his new school. What he isn't prepared for are the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing instituted by the local preacher. The heartfelt story that emerges is of a father longing for the son he lost and of a young man aching for the father who walked out on him. To the rockin' rhythm of its Tony-nominated score, Footloose celebrates the wisdom of listening to young people, guiding them with a warm heart and an open mind. 

Footloose first became a part of American culture in 1984 when the film, starring Kevin Beacon as Ren and John Lithgow as Reverend Shaw, took movie theatres by storm. It was fourteen years later when Footloose found its way to the Broadway stage, opening in the fall of 1998 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The production ran for nearly two years and over 700 performances. It also garnered four Tony Award nominations, including Best Actress in a Musical (Dee Hoty as Vi Moore) and Best Choreography (A.C. Ciulla). 

Most recently, a remake of the original movie was released in 2011, starring Kenny Wormald, Julianna Hough, Andie MacDowell, and Dennis Quaid.

Footloose was adapted for the stage by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie and has music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Pitchford.Way Off Broadway’s production is directed by the theatre’s Executive Producer, Bill Kiska, with choreography by Amanda Patten and music direction by Jordan B. Stocksdale. 

Leading the cast as the rabble-rousing Ren McCormack is Way Off Broadway newcomer Patrick J. Prebula. Leah Bebee, who first appeared as Amber in WOB’s 2011 production of Hairspray, will join Prebula as the mischievous daughter of the stern town preacher, Ariel Moore. Playing the parents of the two teens will be Jessica Billones as Ethel McCormack, Alexandra Garcia Guyker as Vi Moore, and Jordan B. Stocksdale as Reverend Shaw Moore. Also in the cast are Jordan C. Allen, Jason Harding Beall, Sarah Biggs, Matthew Crawford, Sheila Cunningham, Thomas Evich, Michael Iacone, Morgan Lash, Anthony Marchese, Kedren Spencer, Natalie Stephenson, and Joseph Waeyaert, with Genevieve Williams, who also assistant directs the show, making an appearance as Betty Blast. 

The show will run from June 15 – August 25, 2012, with performances every Friday and Saturday evening and matinees on the 1^st, 3^rd, and 5^th Sunday of each month. Tickets on Friday and Sunday are $42 and $46 for Saturdays. There is a Special Show Only performance of Footloose scheduled for Sunday July 22^nd with tickets only $25. 

For additional information about Way Off Broadway, including all of its productions and events, contact the theatre at (301) 662-6600or visit www.wayoffbroadway.com. 

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre has been a leader in the region’s performing arts community since it first opened in 1995. Under the direction of the Kiska Family since 2002, Way Off Broadway has produced such productions as A Funny Thing . . . Forum, Guys & Dolls, Steel Magnolias, Oklahoma!, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, The Odd Couple, A Chorus Line, Lend Me a Tenor, The Sound of Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Evita, Cats, The Full Monty, South Pacific, and Hairspray, as well as the regional and/or area premieres of Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl - The Musical, Jerry Herman’s La Cage aux Folles, the musical comedy The Wedding Singer, Mel Brooks’ The Producers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Located along Route 40 West, the Golden Mile in Frederick, the theatre also produces a one-of-a-kind children’s lunch theatre, as well as a number of special events throughout the year.

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