Snazzy footwork and soulful sounds
It’s considerably more difficult to pull off dance moves to 80’s tunes and still look cool. The cast of Elizabeth Moir School’s musical production of award winning retro musical “Footloose” has however got it figured out.
You could see them in action from November 5-7 at the Wendt, breaking Moir’s stretch of over 10 years without a musical production.
There’s a lot of shimmying, soulful verging on satirical ‘holding-out for a hero’ and illicit dancing as the cast is polishing up for their appearance later on this week.
Snazzy footwork isn’t the only weapon this cast has got up its sleeve to tell the age-old tale of youth versus the system.
Rebelling the lack of a school dance owing to religiously imposed rules and Reverend Shaw’s doctrinal devotion to these rules, the cast has also been working on their singing.
For many like Senal Wijetunge playing the male lead this is a first. It has taken more than the power of the iconic red jacket and black bow-tie for Senal to incorporate singing and dancing into his familiar sphere of acting.
“I did watch both the movies,” he tells us to pull-off the suavely cool Ren McCormack. Keeping “all three aspects” off the ground has been quite a juggling act for him, but “it’s been a fun experience rehearsing with these guys.”
Leading lady Ariel is what we would call the epitome of good girl gone bad. “I’ve had to work a bit,” Kharesma Ravichandran who doesn’t see herself naturally fit in to the role explains.
“We wanted to put our own twist,” on the typical 80’s bad-girl. Currently a recording artiste in South India she says being in the cast is a lively change from the walls of a studio, “here, we get to dance” she says.
According to Felix Deemer who plays the strict Reverend Shaw, “He’s not a bad person.” Fuelled by a bad experience in his past the stiffness and complete disapproval of dancing comes as a coping mechanism.
“I don’t normally sing,” he shares, but wanted to be a part of a musical and ‘Footloose’ is his first. Playing his wife, Mrs. Moore, Tripti Mathews says her character is interesting since “she’s more than she lets on.” Slightly more open-minded than the Reverend, Tripti says related well to the role “because she’s young at heart.”
Rebellious Ren’s weary mother, Ethel is played by Rachel Hayward who is at the receiving end of his passive aggression for moving into a small town.
The movies she admits helped in her portrayal of this role. Apart from very little dancing allotted to her character Rachel enjoys the play because “It addresses the power of youth in solidarity and their effect,” which isn’t staged much.
Tickets for Elizabeth Moir’s Production of ‘Footloose’ are available at the Senior School- Thalakotuwa Gardens, Colombo-05.
