“Footloose - The Musical”.

Nottingham Arts Youth Theatre

Ren McCormack arrives in town with his mother and is in shock when he discovers the small Midwestern town of Bomont he now calls home, has made dancing and rock music illegal. As he struggles to fit in, Ren faces an uphill battle to change things.

With the help of his new friend, Willard Hewitt, and defiant teen Ariel Moore, he might loosen up this conservative town. But Ariel’s influential father, Reverend Shaw Moore, stands in the way. How can he change the mindset of the Reverend and the townsfolk?

Ren Mccormack is played by George Young. George I have seen on stage for a few years now and I can see the meteoric rise in his confidence and his talent over the years George is a really confident performer, singer and dancer, and I know that being part of this group has been so important in this confidence ascent. He has created lovely chemistry with Francesca Lewis, who plays Ariel, and their duet of "Almost Paradise", which by the way is one of my favourite parts of the soundtrack, was spine tinglingly good. Their voices harmonising beautifully. His energy in the dance sections never waned - his flicks and kicks spot on, and his characterisation of this Chicago rebel likewise. No wonder he, like all of these actors, had the widest smile on his face at the end.

Ethel McCormack, Ren's mum, is played tonight by Eleanor Carty, standing in for Jessica Henley-Marshall at the last minute due to her contracting Covid. Eleanor gave us a caring and supportive mother figure. It's always difficult for an understudy, and that in itself is rare in local theatre, but, as with all good understudies, the show must go on for the group, and Eleanor stepped up admirably in this role.

Ariel Moore is played by Francesca Lewis. Apart from looking the part of a trophy girlfriend for Chuck, this young woman has a voice suited to musical theatre. Again, another triple threat, lighting up the stage with her presence and powerful vocals, but she also has a great light and shade character and she shows Ariel's sensitive side with the same amount of ease as she presents the rebel side of this Reverend's daughter.

Reverend Moore is played by Shantanu Bhumbra. From Fagin in "Oliver" to a man of the cloth here, Shan showcases his ability to play very different characters and use his voice, and vocals, in very different ways as well. Light and shade also comes into play with Moore, but with good reason when you find out the back story of why the Reverend has acted in the way that he has done, pre Ren. Another solid performance.

The Reverend's Wife, Vi Moore, is played by Emily-Hope Wilkins. Another pair of characters with wonderful chemistry with Vi and Shaw Moore. Emily is one of those actors who invests on the part and you can tell this by the way she plays Vi. There's the sensitive and protective side of Vi as she covers for Ariel, and then when she lets go at Shaw when discussing the reason for the dance ban rule, you see the passion that she injects into this part. But just wait till you hear Emily-Hope sing; she pours out even more passion through the lyrics of Vi's featured song, "Can You Find It In Your Heart".

Willard, which is one of my favourite characters in this musical, is played by Zach Silcock. Zack completely gets this character 100%, and that shows in the physical side of Zach's acting skills. I absolutely loved his main song "Mama Said", extracting even more comedy, and the scene where Ren and co are teaching him dance moves was a treat to see.

Willard's girlfriend, Rusty Rodriguez, is played by Hanna Fletcher, and here again is a young actor with a voice that made me sit up and take notice; what power, but not just powerful but the clarity was something that also hit me. I heard every word of what she sang. I come again back to chemistry, and the chemistry that Zach and Hanna created was just so lovely, you could hear some of the audience switching from laughter to a gentle "aaaahhhh".

Chuck, who is the incredibly jealous boyfriend of Ariel, is played by Jonathan Jaycock. I can understand why, in the programme, it states that this role has been a challenge, because you can tell that Chuck is nothing like Jonathan, and to take on a bullying boyfriend who, at times drags Ariel around by her hair, is a character that is quite alien. That said, i thought he did a wonderful job, making me believe just how nasty Chuck was.

Urleen, Ariel's flirtatious friend, is played by Freya Rhodes. Eloise Rees plays Wendy-Jo in the version that I saw this evening; Emily takes over on Saturday. Both wonderful supporting roles to Ariel, and yet again, both have wonderful vocals to showcase.

Jamie Adlam, who we last saw as "Dodger" in "Oliver", again shows what stage presence and confidence he has. As both Lyle and Cowboy Bob, we get to see more of Jamie's choreography skills. For such a young actor, you wouldn't think it by his height, the choreography is quite raunchy in parts, but he nails every dance move he has been given. Jamie is one of those actors who you know that you could give any role to crack, and he's crack it. A very confident and professional young man, and an actor who oozes a passion for acting. I know, I've had the pleasure of chatting with him away from the stage and nerves do not seem to be a word in his vocabulary.

Arlo Perrons plays Travis and Liam Brown plays Bickie, the male equivalent of Freya and Wendy-Jo. I've seen Arlo on the Arts Theatre stage before and I'm really pleased that we get to see his character acting talents as Ren's friend Travis. Liam, I last saw not so long ago in the title role of "Oliver". In just a few shore weeks, Liam seems to grown, in all senses. he looks taller and, while I raved about his role in "Oliver", even in this smaller role as another of Ren's friends, his performance was like a magnet. And of course we got to hear his strong vocals once more. Both characters were fun to play, if the smiles from Arlo and Liam are to be believed, and I believed them.

Jeter is played by Charles Beckett and Giles Briggs plays Gavin. Both young actors show immense confidence in these roles. Charles I've noted in past shows as one to watch and Giles makes his Nottingham Arts Theatre debut, but his confidence, and obvious love of performing, shows that this is not his debut on a stage.

This is a large cast and the principle adults on stage are played by Hemi Lewis, Louis Elliment, Caitlin Young, Jack Kent, Preston Nash and Brogan Haynes.

The dancers are made up of Kate Lewis, Charlotte Fisher, Blaise Bondswell, Mya Matthews, Rachel Smith, Zoe Turton, Chloe Chapman, Scarlett Coleman-Smith, Liberty Whitehouse, Eloise Rees, Emily Holder and Olivia Bonham.

And then there's the all important ensemble: Cleo Sims, Morgan Spencer, Florence Everitt, Ruby Hall, Sky Douglas, Stephanie Booth, Edie Mackenzie, Megan Holder and Hattie Campion.

Production Manager and Choreographer is Jessica Royce. Just knowing that Jess is involved in a production gives me a feeling of confidence that I am in for a really good production. She never fails me in these feelings. There is a lot of choreography here and you can see the hard work that has gone into this area. She has made sure that the hands and armography are well turned out, and as with the "Footloose" choreography, the flicks and kicks are so sharp. The smaller group dances are fun to watch and the large ensemble numbers are positively kaleidoscopic.

Directed by Christopher Mundy, and if what is written in the programme is to be believed, Chris has been directing since 2010. Does that mean his debut as a Director was when he was about five years old? Seriously, I've known Chris for a few years now and have seen his talents, not only as an actor, but as a Director blossom as time went on. This is just exhilarating to watch the fruits of his directorial labours; he obviously has the spark and attitude that runs off on his cast and crew. He has enforced his love of musical theatre on this cast and they, in turn, like a mirror have reflected this love. That is plain to see by the looks on every actor's face when the final curtain fell.

Assistant Director and Choreographer is Eleanor Carty. As stated above, Eleanor also stepped into the role of Ethel, showing her fluidity in several roles within theatre.

Jonah Williams is the Assistant Musical Director to Gareth Wynne. The eight piece band were onstage all the time and the sound was just gorgeous. This soundtrack holds so many well known numbers; "Let's Hear It For The Boy", "Holding Out For A Hero", "Almost Paradise", "Heaven Help Me", "the Girl Gets Around", "Mama Said", "Can't You Find It In Your Heart" as well as the insanely catchy title song.

The set, which was set on two levels also provided a great pulpit for Moore to preach from, as well as the bridge for the staging of "Almost Paradise". Roydon Charlesworth provided the deck for the set. The stage crew and management made sure that the props on set were placed and removed in a swift fashion, meaning that there was no hanging around for the next scenes.

Oliver Read was Lighting Designer and operator and Rob Ketteridge was Sound Designer. I could have guessed really because the lighting was exciting and the sound was clarity personified.

The energy from this cast would have been enough to light up the National Grid three times over, and the passion and love for performing was evident from the first placed foot to the final bows, richly deserving the standing ovation they received.

"Footloose The Musical" is punching the card until Saturday 18 March.