FOOTLOOSE at Oklahoma City University's Kirkpatrick Auditorium

Oklahoma City University Opens Season with Musical Footloose, Sept. 27-29 

Oklahoma City University’s Opera and Music Theater Company opens its season Sept. 27-29 with Footloose, the Tony-nominated Broadway musical based on the iconic 1984 movie inspired by the lifting of a ban on dancing in Elmore City, Oklahoma.

Featuring a cast of 45  and nine-piece rock band, OCU’s Bass School of Music production will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie’s release with three performances: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in Kirkpatrick Auditorium, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave.

Tickets ($15-30) are available from 405.208.5227 or www.okcu.edu/tickets. A Footloose-themed pre-show opening night dinner ($25) featuring entertainment by OCU students begins 6 p.m. Friday in the Bass Music Center Atrium. A free director’s talk will be held 45 minutes before curtain.

The coming-of-age dance musical opened on Broadway in 1998 and ran for 709 performances before kicking off a national tour. The movie’s Oscar- and Grammy-nominated soundtrack is the basis for the score, which includes pop hits such as Footloose,Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, and Let’s Hear It for the Boy.

“This is a wonderful parable about facing down an overreach of power in a small town, which builds to a celebration of reconciliation and love,” said David Herendeen, beginning his 27th season as director of OCU’s opera and music theater program.

Matthew Mailman will lead the Footloose band, marking the start of his 30th season on the OCU podium and his 56th OCU production.

The show features choreography by Sheri Hayden, costume design by Allison Winsby, lighting design by Aaron Mooney, scenic design by Jason Foreman, and sound design by Josie Mueller.

The stage adaptation is by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, with music by Tom Snow, lyrics by Pitchford, and additional music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, and Jim Steinman.

OCU’s season continues with the musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone (Oct. 4-6), the mainstage opera The Ballad of Baby Doe (Nov. 15-17), The Go-Go’s jukebox musical Head Over Heels (Feb. 14-16), the mainstage opera twin bill Strawberry Fields and Gianna Schicchi (Feb. 21-23), and the season-finale musical: Cole Porter’s Anything Goes (April 11-13).

The Bass School of Music is home to the Oklahoma Opera & Music Theater Company, the nation’s oldest campus-based troupe now celebrating its 73rd consecutive season. OCU has been honored with 11 National Opera Association production awards, and selected multiple times by Playbill for its “Big Ten” honor roll of top schools educating Broadway performers. For details, visit www.okcu.edu/music.

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THE CAST: Featuring Ava Musgraves and Emily Sullivan as Ariel Moore; Zibby Nolting and Lianna Paglia as Rusty; Morgan Lane and Celine Sullivan as Urleen; Ella Benward and Sahara Seifried as Wendy Jo; Riordan Banks and Zac Decker as Ren McCormack; Jackson Barnes and Scott Bratton as Rev. Shaw Moore; Grant Huneycutt and Brady McComas as Willard Hewitt; Michael Mariniello as Chuck Cranston; Audrey Logan and Lilly Nowak as Vi Moore; Lizzy Perrone as Cowboy Bobbie; Livvy Hartshorn as Ethel McCormack; Jane Ahn as Betty Blast; Catherine DeVincenzi as Lulu Warnicker; Makenna Jacobs as Eleanor Dunbar; Micah Phillips (Travis) and Alex Rodriguez (Lyle) as Chuck’s Friends; Jeron Robinson (Jeter), Reid Taylor (Garvin) and Niko Theriault (Bickle) as Willard’s Friends; Orion Turner as Wes Warnicker; John Kuchinski as the Policeman; Jared Barbee as Coach; and Katie Eagleton as Principal Clark. Ensemble members: Susan Allison, Madeline Belcher, Faith Dengate, Claire Ehlers, Emma Johnston, Kylie Merrill, Rachael Parsons, Audrey Pottkotter, Madeira Thomas, Jessie Smith, Evie Shirah, Mabel Tyler, Nate Sarlls and Matthew Compa. 

DIRECTION

Director: David Herendeen

Choreographer: Sheri Hayden

Assistant Director: Macey Urso

MUSIC

Music Director: Matthew Mailman

Associate Music Director/Vocal Coach: Taylor Hutchinson

Assistant Music Directors: Katie Crim, Logan Edwards

Music Assistants: Joao Pedro Pena Dutra, Margaret Smith

Reeds: Julia Kahmann - clarinet, tenor saxophone

Rebecca Sims - flute, baritone saxophone

Keyboard 1: Taylor Hutchinson

Keyboard 2: Joao Pedro Pena Dutra

Guitar 1: Matt Elder

Guitar 2: Caleb Tate

Bass: Eli Van Swearingen

Drum Set: Matthew Voit

Percussion: Adam Whoolery

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Scenic Designer: Jason Foreman

Sound Designer: Josie Mueller

Costume Designer: Allison Winsby

Props Supervisor: Amanda Schnake

Lighting Designer: Aaron Mooney 

Stage Manager: Paige Miller

A2 : Brett Haven

A3: Rabbit Gipson

Assistant Lighting Designer: Miranda Freeland

Assistant Light Designer (Spot): Jake Johnson

Assistant Costume Designer: Celil Chester

Assistant Stage Manager: Brielle Norlie

Assistant Stage Manager: Ainsley Eiffert

Assistant to the Director: Sareena Hampton

Authors

• Dean Pitchford
• Eric Carmen
• Jim Steinman
• Kenny Loggins
• Sammy Hagar
• Tom Snow
• Walter Bobbie
• Zoe Akins