For any of you who consider yourself young at 30 years old,
here
’s a news flash for you: The stars of South Valley Civic
Theatre’s production of ‘Footloose’ weren’t even born when Kevin
Bacon was dancing his way through the original 1984 movie.
For any of you who consider yourself young at 30 years old, here’s a news flash for you: The stars of South Valley Civic Theatre’s production of ‘Footloose’ weren’t even born when Kevin Bacon was dancing his way through the original 1984 movie.
Feeling any grey hairs popping up yet?
In fact, nearly all of the cast that tried out for parts for one of the ’80s most period telling films had never even seen the movie before.
“I watched it the day after (getting the part),” said Dustin Van Gundy, who plays Bacon’s lead role of Ren McCormack in the show. “I saw parts of it on TV.”
However, not to add insult to injury, the eighth to 12th graders who are taking part in the show, rather than laughing at some of the goofy culture of the period, have actually embraced it.
“It’s not necessarily weird, it’s a lot of fun,” said Dustin Van Gundy, who plays Bacon’s lead role of Ren McCormack in the show.
Ashley Little, who plays McCormack’s love interest as Ariel Moore, also hasn’t had a problem adjusting to the role.
“Not at all, we actually are really getting used to it,” she said. “We’re getting more into the ’80s and giving up some of the new millennium.”
Like Van Gundy, Little had never seen the show before her tryout.
“I had never seen it on stage and didn’t see (the movie) until a few weeks ago,” said Little, a 17-year-old senior at Gilroy High School who has been on stage since she was 3 years old and has done countless shows with SVCT.
According to Director Carol Harris, while they may not have known the about the show then, all of them have gotten acquainted with it.
“They can get it for $14 at Target, and they have a CD they’ve been listening to,” she said. “I think you can see that they’ve gotten into it. Especially the lead players have taken it to heart.”
Produced by Janet Espinosa and Marie Haluza, “Footloose” opens with McCormack leaving a life of excitement in the big city to move to a small town where he finds that all kinds of fun – including dancing – have been banned because of the power of the local reverend, played by Jeremy Borgia or Morgan Hill.
“It’s the same premise as the movie: ‘It’s illegal to dance in Bomont,” Haluza said.
Complicating matters for McCormack is that while he adjusts to small town life he falls for the reverend’s daughter (Moore) and tries to set up an end-of-the-school-year dance without getting thrown out of town.
“It’s got a lot of singing and dancing and not a lot of dialogue,” Haluza said. “The Broadway version adds about six songs to the movie version.”
The SVCT rendition of the play uses a simple stage that allows the main focus to be on the 26 cast members.
“The audience uses their imagination,” said Harris, who last directed SVCT in “1940s Radio Hour” a few months ago. “A table here, a wagon there.”
All of the show’s scene changes are planned to take 10 seconds or less, as the theater makes use of lighting and basic props to quickly change between scenes.
“The set is very simple,” Haluza said. “We don’t shut the curtain. In the opening scene, when we tell the story, they go from Chicago to the town hall to the church, and we need to use areas on the stage to show that.”
The only complicated scene change is a railroad tressle that lowers down onto the stage.
Little said that having a relatively small cast and an open stage has helped the actors to become friends during the show.
“The cast is small,” she said. “You get to know people on a personal level.”
For Antonio Silva, who plays the role of McCormack’s friend, Willard Hewitt, it was a first-time experience on the community theater stage.
“My music teacher, Lori Paulini, said there was a show coming up I should be in. It was kind of a guilt thing (being talked into it),” he said. “I’d been singing a lot of Broadway songs, and she said I should be in a show.”
The 17-year-old Gilroyan is a senior at Palma High School and takes private singing lessons through the Music Tree in Morgan Hill. He said that while he was apprehensive about being in the show, he came away learning about being an actor.
“I’ve learned how to act better,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about stage performance.”
Researching the role wasn’t too difficult for the actors since most of them are playing roles of high school students.
“It’s nice,” Little said. “You go out to research your role and it’s pretty easy.”
Van Gundy, a 16-year-old Gilroyan who attends Monte Vista High School in Watsonville, has been in seven SVCT shows, including “1940s Radio Hour.” He said that while he learned a lot about the story of “Footloose” by watching the movie, he isn’t about to try and act just like Bacon’s character did in the 1984 version of the show.
“I try not to copy other people,” he said. “The only thing I do like Kevin Bacon is go up on my toes.”
South Valley Civic Theatre’s production of ‘Footloose’ opens tonight at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse and runs through March 21. Tickets are available at BookSmart, 778-6467, the community center, 782-0008 or at www.SVCT.org/ Details: 842-SHOW.
