It was difficult not to have your toes tappin’, fingers snappin, and your body movin’ while watching the theater department at Nederland Middle Senior High School (NMSHS) perform Footloose the Musical. Many of us know the plot and music from the 1984 movie that stars Kevin Bacon. Did you know it is based on a true story?

The cast and crew from NMSHS brilliantly brought this story to the stage. Senior Noah Turner played Ren McCormack who moved to Bomont from Chicago with his mother, played by Aya Pelkum Donahue. Trouble seems to find McCormack everywhere he turns. McCormack’s love for dancing puts him in direct conflict with the powerful minister in town Reverend Shaw Moore, played convincingly by Morgan Lake.

One could look at Footloose and simply see any town anywhere that made a law to try to protect the youth, and the kids didn’t like it so they tried to fight it. You can look at it deeper and see a family and a town in grief after four kids are killed in a car accident. Not knowing how to deal with this grief in a healthy way Rev. Moore convinces the town that dancing, rock ‘n roll, and a party of any kind must be outlawed to protect the youth. This would include his daughter Ariel, played by Sierra Tomlinson. Ariel rebels in any way she can, when in fact she really wants her father to see her, listen to her, and show her that he loves her.

McCormack teaches his friend Willard Hewitt, played by Tyler Goodnow, to dance in a very entertaining scene. All the teenagers rally together to confront the city council about changing the law. But the influence of Rev. Moore is too strong.

After a heartfelt conversation between McCormack and Rev. Moore, both of them realize they have more in common than they knew. McCormack aches for his father who left him and Rev. Moore longs for the son they lost. This is a story of acceptance, letting go, the need to listen and ultimately hope.

In the end the teenagers are allowed to hold their dance. And dance they did! Just like throughout the entire production the dancing was wonderful and so much fun.

Many of the songs that were sung during the play were hits from the movie like “Footloose,” “Holding Out for a Hero,” “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” and “Almost Paradise.” The trio of Skylar Abookire, Blue Garcia-Paine and Lucy Schalz wowed the audience with their harmonies while singing “Somebody’s Eyes.”

There was also a rather poignant song sung by Vi Moore played by Ande Hammers, Ethel McCormack played by Aya Pelkum Donahue and Ariel Moore played by Tomlinson. These three women because they are women and their roles in the small town they can not speak their minds. They are expected to be silent and are told to be silent. This song speaks to their frustration. It is a frustration many of us have felt when we feel we do not matter.

Turner, whose energy was contagious throughout the performance, had no problem convincing anyone that McCormack’s passion was to dance and dance. Turner said after the show, “The best part of the day is theater.”

A verse in the Bible is quoted in the play from Ecclesiastes 3:4, “There is a season for everything…a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” We need to mourn after a tragedy and sadness in our life. Then we need to break free from our fears and not let our fears hold others back.

The cast and crew of Footloose at NMSHS under the direction of Elizabeth Evans did a fantastic job of sharing their talents of dancing, singing, acting, and storytelling with the audience.

Let’s dance!