Cast Set for FOOTLOOSE At Big Noise Theatre

Big Noise Theatre will open their 2024-2025 season with FOOTLOOSE (stage adaptation by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, based off the original screenplay by Dean Pitchford with music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pitchford, additional music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, and Jim Steinman) this September and October in Des Plaines, IL., right outside of Chicago.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the beloved 1984 Paramount Pictures film, FOOTLOOSE first burst onto the silver screen in 1984 and proved to be one of the year's most successful motion pictures. The soundtrack recording reached #1 on the Billboard charts, and went on to sell over 17 million copies worldwide, generating such Top Forty hits as its title song and "Let's Hear It For The Boy" (both of which received Academy Award nominations), plus "Almost Paradise," "Holding Out For A Hero," and "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)." FOOTLOOSE opened on Broadway on October 22, 1998. The next day, the show broke the box office record for the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it continued to thrill audiences through July 2000. After the Broadway run, the creators made changes throughout the libretto and updated the story to fit a contemporary setting while still featuring the beloved jukebox hits. FOOTLOOSE celebrates the exhilaration of youth, the wisdom of listening to one another, and the power of forgiveness.

The production will be performed at Prairie Lakes Community Center, located at 515 East Thacker Street Des Plaines, IL 60016. The show opens Friday, September 27th, 2024 at 7:30pm, with performances following on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm and Sunday afternoons at 2:00pm until October 13, 2024. The production is Directed by Matt Dominguez, with Vocal Direction by Kara Spector, Orchestra Direction by Connor Yoon, and Choreography by Annie Snow. Abby Boegh serves as Associate Choreographer.

The cast features Declan Durr as Ren McCormack and Rose McReynolds as Ariel Moore. They are joined by Jason Stevens as Reverend Shaw Moore, Gretchen Wood Kimmeth as Vi Moore, Samantha Mayer as Ethel McCormack, Adonis Claybourne as Willard Hewitt, Kaylee Hayden as Kara "Rusty" Pizzolo, Matanel Roitman as Chuck Cranston, Mollie Peery as Urleen (Ariel Understudy), Abby DeRosa as Wendy Jo (Rusty Understudy), Cammerron Baits as Lyle (Chuck Understudy), Stephanie Herman as Garvin (Urleen and Wendy Jo Understudy), Henry Lombardo as Bickel (Ren Understudy), Jay Torrens as Travis (Willard Understudy), Ben Paynic as Jeter, Kyle Kite as Coach Dunbar, Sarah Morton as Eleanor Dunbar (Adult Women Understudy), Mara Currens as Betty Blast, Gayle Starr as Lulu, Kyle Houseman as Ensemble (Reverend Shaw Moore Understudy), and Parker Stancato as Cowboy Bob.

The Production Team includes Travis Monroe Neese (Producer), Erin Versosky (Stage Manager), Tristan Skandar Wold (Assistant Stage Manager), David Geinosky (Set Designer), Tom McNelis (Technical Director/Carpenter), Sam Stephen (Lighting Designer), Rich Neumann (Sound Designer), Martha Shuford (Costume Designer), Ray Mindas (Props Designer, Costume Assistant), Roberto Puig (Wig Designer), Erin Sheets (Intimacy Director), and Brent Walker (Marketing).

Director Matt Dominguez says of the musical, "It's easy to reduce Footloose to the story of teens fighting a town for their right to dance. But looking beyond the famous premise, it is the story of youth demanding to be seen and heard, to ensure they have as much right to discover the world on their own terms, to find their own community where they don't live in fear and oppression, but joy and freedom. Even forty years since the original film, these themes ring true today."

Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for seniors (aged 65+) and students, and $25 for children (12 and under). Tickets are on sale now at the Big Noise Theatre website: https://bignoise.org/footloose

FOOTLOOSE
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 Music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins and Jim Steinman

Directed by Matt Dominguez
Vocal Direction by Kara Spector
Choreographed by Annie Snow
Orchestra Direction by Connor Yoon
Associate Choreographed by Abby Boegh
Produced by Travis Monroe Neese

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the beloved 1984 Paramount Pictures film!

The explosive movie musical bursts onto the live stage! Dynamic new songs join the soundtrack of Top Forty hits that reached #1 on the Billboard charts. FOOTLOOSE celebrates the exhilaration of youth, the wisdom of listening to one another, and the power of forgiveness.

Friday and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pm from September 27 - October 13, 2024. Tickets and more information available at: https://bignoise.org/footloose

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