Footloose is a widely-known movie from the 80’s, mainly because of its soundtrack. Kenny Loggins created big hit songs for this movie including a classic, “Footloose” and “I’m Free.” But how does Lakeville South’s musical compare to the movie?
I interviewed Keifer Campbell to learn more about the musical. She believes that this show “can connect with any audience, both teens because of the characters in the show and adults since the movie came out around their time.” The music within it will also prove to be one of the best parts of Footloose. Keifer explained that the show has a wide variety of songs to offer. The songs are both fun and upbeat and slow and meaningful. Some songs that will be performed in Footloose will be “Footloose,” “Somebody’s Eyes,” “Holding Out For a Hero,” and “Let’s Hear It For the Boy.” These songs are also in the original movie, which helps keep the musical nostalgic for the viewer.
The real magic of the musical is in all the behind-the-scenes planning. To look at the behind-the-scenes side of the production (tech) we interviewed Oliver Madison and Olivia Larscheid. Lots of hard work and many long hours go into being in Tech. They had meetings on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and in April every day except for Sundays. Tech worked for about 2 months to build the set. When asked what her favorite set piece was, Olivia said the stairs. She noted that the stairs were challenging to build, and one of the stair legs had been a different length. Oliver’s favorite set piece was the large cross. This is because whenever someone adjusted it, the ongoing joke was to say amen instead of thanks.
The play itself features most of the songs from the musical. Oliver and Olivia told us that Footloose appeals to people who feel like they do not fit in or those who feel as if they just can not fit in. A big part of being in tech is the community. Olivia told us that she joined because her brother said it is full of nice people and is a good opportunity. To join tech you don’t need any prior experience and they are open to all as long as you are comfortable painting and building. It was a treat to learn about the community that goes into creating LSHS’s productions.
