Croswell Opera House Stages FOOTLOOSE For Two Weekends

The Croswell Opera House will journey back to the 1980s for the next two weekends as it stages the musical FOOTLOOSE.

FOOTLOOSE is based on the 1984 Kevin Bacon movie of the same name, and includes all of the film's most well-known songs. It is the story of a teenager named Ren McCormick, who moves with his mother from Chicago to the small town of Bomont, Texas, where he defies the local preacher's ban on dancing.

The show opens Friday, June 10 and runs for two weekends, with 7:30 p.m. shows Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. shows Saturdays and Sundays. An additional evening show will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 16.

Griffin Yeater of Adrian plays Ren, with Megan Beckett of Toledo as his mother, Ethel. Reverend Moore is played by D. Ward Ensign of Toledo, with Cyndy Brookover of Toledo as his wife, Vi, and Aiyanna Fivecoat of Adrian as their daughter, Ariel.

Ariel's friends are played by Gabrielle Blondin of Linden as Rusty, Anjewel Lenoir of Adrian as Urleen, and Elise Brown of Sylvania as Wendy Jo. Ren's friends are Maxwell Lam of Ypsilanti as Willard Hewitt, Abraham Nixon of Monclova, Ohio, as Jeter, Ben Bascuk of Waterville, Ohio, as Bickle, and Luke Gorsuch of Jackson as Garvin. "Bad boy" Chuck Cranston is played by Ben Logue of Bowling Green, Ohio, with Caleb Handy of Palmyra and Matthew Antalek of Adrian as his sidekicks Lyle and Travis.

Carolyn Cupp of Toledo and Carter Steude of Adrian play Ren and Ethel's relatives, Lulu and Wes Warnicker. The high school principal is played by Bennice Byles of Adrian. Gym teacher Coach Dunbar is played by Megan Clark of Ypsilanti, with Kylie McElrath of Clinton filling the role for one performance. Kylie Bushman of Adrian plays the coach's daughter Eleanor. Wyatt DuFord of RIga plays Cowboy Bob, a singer; Megan Sterling of Adrian is diner owner Betty Blast, and Noah Tarsha of Adrian is a policeman.

Rounding out the 52-person cast are Chance Adkins, Jon Antalek, Haylie Blohm, Madelyn Bowman, Abby Hall, Sarahfay Hendin, Abby Knight, Alex Pizana, Sage Pizana, Logan Richardson, Savannah Ritter, Brienna Scott, Eli Stachowske, Gage Sterling, Astrid Thomas and Hallie Yuen, all of Adrian; Mitchell LaRoy of Blissfield; Emily Haselschwerdt of Clinton; Amber Woollcott of Grand Blanc; Carson Bartley of Ottawa Lake; Wesley Miner of Palmyra; Taylor Goodin of Petersburg; Oden Berthelsen, Macy Schmidt, Abigail VanCamp and Kimberly VanCamp, all of Tecumseh; Jacy Foos of Perrysburg, Ohio; and Lydia Carroll and Jeremy Szymanski, both of Toledo.

Erin Pifer, a lifelong Croswell performer who first appeared on stage when she was four months old, makes her Croswell directing debut with this show. The choreography is by Jessica Briggs and Sarah Nowak. Michael Yuen is the vocal director, and Ray Novak conducts an eight-piece orchestra.

Tickets to FOOTLOOSE range from $20 to $40 for adults, $15 to $25 for students. The Croswell cautions its patrons to beware of third-party resellers that try to sell tickets at significantly marked up prices. Tickets may be ordered by calling 517-264-7469 or going to croswell.org.

The Croswell, a 640-seat historic theater built in 1866, is at 129 E. Maumee St., Adrian.

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