Footloose in London

Footloose the Musical- A reveiw by John of the London West End production, Novello Theatre ;)

The West End Production of Footloose-the musical based on the 1984 movie-is a well designed and executed production that is a heap of fun for both cast, crew and audience but could do with a few pointers from a small amatuer musical and drama association in the Central West of New South Wales.

This version leaves out a few lines, characters and songs from the original broadway production. I don't know wether Coach Dunbar was sick that night but his absence left a gaping whole, especially after Al G's performance in the Parkes production showed how integral the character was. The audience warmed to West End Williard but lacked the suprising spontaneity of Greg B's portrayal.

It is clear that the West End cast are very good dancers but they look much to old to be in school. That is true of the lead character Ren, Jock will be a better actor when he gets to West End Ren's age.

I found West End Rev Moore a bit of a wimp compared to Neil's performance. Actually this was a continuing theme with Chuck, Lyle and Travis no where near as rough as the Parkes trio, they can sing though and it looked like they found the dances much easier. Similarly West End Jim the Cop poses no threat to Beaumont's troublmakers, lacking the authoritative manner of Parkes Jim.

Technical production was good except that the microphones were often muted at the beggining of dialouge, which is something you must never do.

A strong point of the West End Production is that choreographed pelvic thrusts abound in the Girl gets around-something that was sadly lacking in the Parkes production. I now feel vindicated in my advice to Nixson not being noted. If Pelvic thrusts are good enough for London, why not Parkes?

The biggest failing of the West End Production was the absence of the town hall rap with Ren and the kid's appeal to the town council being watered down to a solo speech.

In fairness, while the West End could take a few notes from the Central West, the production was a lot of fun to watch and I found myself having to be careful not to sing the words and dialouge out loud. I think we can be very proud of what we achieved given our time and resources but I strongly reccomend that you check out the professionals at work if the opportunity comes your way.

Written with tounge firmly in cheek.