Review: FOOTLOOSE at Oak Grove

The 1998 stage musical inspired by the classic 1984 film is back in the F-M area! Oak Grove Theatre Arts and Director (and set designer) Nicholas Schons decided to bring us the story about the small town that outlaws dancing. I think most people, even the younger have seen the original movie (let's not talk about that re-make). There is a lot of talent at Oak Grove and this production showcases it.

For this production the creative team decided to cast adults for the adult roles. All of the adults were played by Oak Grove faculty, parents or alumni.

Unfortunately for everyone reading this, every show sold out! So hopefully you already got to see it, or have tickets for the final performance.

A HUGE shout out to Jean Sando on the costume design. I love seeing that classic 80's look because it brings back so many memories. Jordan Feigert, as always, does such a wonder job on sound and lighting design. Of course, Footloose would not be Footloose without that great music so great job to Music Director/Pianist Jo Marie File and the rest of the Pit Band including Joe Rudd, Josh Swanson, John Juhl and Jennifer Kaminski-Horak.

Now for the performers...

First up we have Heath Thomsen as Ren. Right off the bat his singing impressed, then we get to see his acting ability which was also wonderful. But once he started showing off his dance moves I was completely blown away. His moves (and singing) on "I Can't Stand Still" were one of the highlights of Act I.I also really enjoyed him on "I'm Free" and the end of the Act. In Act II one of the standout moments was Ren & Ariel (Ella Corwin) singing "Almost Paradise".

Ella Corwin as Ariel was another wonderful performance. Ella has an amazing voice and acting ability. She has some great scenes throughout, but her emotional scenes with Shaw truly stood out. Her performance on "Holding Out for a Hero" with Rusty (Ella Rudd), Wendy Jo (Lauren Holstad) and Urleen (Ema Swanson) was phenomenal. This song easily had the biggest applause of the first Act. Of course the already mentioned performance of "Almost Paradise" was another favorite.

Ella Rudd as Rusty is easily my favorite character of this production. Ella has so much talent, and I was told by Scott that she is only in 9th grade!, I already can't wait to see her perform again. Her comedic timing and acting were all spot on. Her vocal performance on "Let's Hear It For The Boy" was my favorite of the show.

Wyatt Nelson as Willard was hilarious and such a fun character. He was definitely an audience favorite and his performance on "Mama Says (You can't back down" was so good. I also really enjoyed him learning how to dance on "Let's Hear It For The Boy".

It was such a joy to get to see Scott Brusven (Technical & Artistic Director) on stage as Shaw. I believe Scott said this was his first time on stage in over 10 years but you would have never known it. Scott gave a wonderful performance and as mentioned above, his scenes with Ariel were very powerful. I really enjoyed his vocals on "Heaven Help Me". He even got to show off his dance moves (with the other adult actors) during the final number.

A few more performances I want to mention are Natalie Bilstad as Vi and Alexis Kopperud as Ethel. Their performance together on "Learning to be Silent" was beautiful and also Natalie was "Can You Find It In Your Heart" was very good.

This might be the best production Oak Grove has ever put on, it's easily my favorite. So much wonderful talent (of all ages). From the adults to the kids I do hope they all decide to take the stage again sometime after this show is done.

Photo Credit: to Mark Sorgaard of Fat Cat Studios

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