
Review: Footloose, New Wolsey
Footloose, currently playing at Ipswich’s New Wolsey Theatre will delight music lovers.
Based on the eighties film of the same, Footloose the Musical tells the story of Ren McCormack, a teenage boy from Chicago. Ren moves with his mother to a small farming town after his father abandons them. A far cry from the busy city he is used to Ren finds himself in a town which has a ban on dancing by the town preacher, Revered Shaw Moore.
As teenagers will, slowly the youngsters of the town begin to rebel, Ren seeks help from love interest Ariel and his new best friend Willard to convince the Reverend to let the teenagers dance, and by doing so, help the town to heal from a shared tragedy.
This is an actor-musician production, the likes of which the New Wolsey excel at and this one is no exception. There are some familiar to the New Wolsey faces in Footloose and it’s great to have these multi-talented performers back on Ipswich’s stage.
The lead characters of Ariel and Ren are played by Kirsty Findlay and Luke Wilson and turn in some great performances, Elizabeth Rowe makes a welcome return to the New Wolsey stage and a welcome one as far as this reviewer is concerned as she has an outstanding voice. Adding a bit of humour is Luke Thornton as Willard.
Featuring classic hits such as Footloose by Kenny Loggins and Let’s Hear It for the Boy by Deniece Williams, this much-loved musical celebrates youth, love and life.
It’s already selling well, but there are still tickets to be had, so hurry along and book yours, you are bound to be on your feet and dancing by the end of the evening.
• Footloose is at the New Wolsey until 26th October. Tickets from www.wolseytheatre.co.uk or phone the box office on 01473 295900.
• Review Mark Keable, Ipswich 24 Magazine