But, really, what does footloose mean? And what's with the shoes?

The definition of the word footloose, according to Dictionary.com, is "free to go or travel about; not confined by responsibilities."  In case you doubt my exhaustive internet research, (which, I'll admit, consisted of one search) it's right here on this link.


According to Merriam-Webster (one more search), the definition is "having no ties: free to move about."  Here is that link.

But now that we know what the word means, here's the real question: what's the deal with the shoes?  The opening sequence from the movie has a bunch of different feet, in different style shoes, dancing.  Have you seen it?  It is pretty cool.

If you haven't seen it before, here it is:




Which pair is your favorite?  I'm pretty partial to the bowling shoes, but I do love a good pair of legwarmers.

This is one of the images that comes to mind for a lot of people when they hear the word "footloose," since it's such a specific and unique sequence.

Another image people probably think of when they hear the title of our show:


And what about this one:


And from the more recent iteration of the story, this one:


And this very famous sequence (and please nobody do this!):


These are great images.  This story is one that a lot of people know: with a song, two movies, and a musical, the title "Footloose" covers a lot of ground.

But let's all remember that this is our production of Footloose.  The story is pretty much the same as the films, but there are some differences that we'll discover in rehearsal.  And while Philip can spike his hair and wear acid-washed jeans like a young Kevin Bacon, his Ren McCormack will be different from the Ren McCormack Kevin Bacon created in the movie.  So when reading the script or working on the songs or putting together scenes in rehearsal, take a second and think about how this story, being told by this group of people (our cast and crew) at this time (today) and in this town (St. John's) is unique.  How can we make it a production and story personal to us?

Set Design

Our fantastically talented set designer, Tracy Nixon, has been working on some sketches of what our set will look like.  Check them out below!  We also have a great graphic designer who is going to help us out with some signage for the scenes at Bomont High and the Burger Blast.

By the way, what should the Bomont Mascot be?  Bomont Bulldogs?  Bomont Badgers?  Bomont Dance Machines?  What do you think?

The Sketches

This is the main unit.  It will be built out of scaffolding and be onstage for the entire show.

The Bomont School Gym--I'm crossing my fingers for a real basketball hoop.

The Church

The Bar-B-Que, the finest little dance palace in three counties--home of Cowboy Bob.

"Footloose" and Elmore City, OK

Footloose is based on a true story.  Sort of.  Here are some links to articles about the Dancing Ban in Elmore City, Oklahoma, that existed until 1980, when a group of students petitioned to have a prom.

Prom Article

Another prom article

A few historic events in Elmore City, OK

And a few pictures of Elmore City

Welcome to Footloose!

Welcome to the Footloose Production Blog.  Throughout our process of putting together the show, we'll use this website as a posting place for any research that applies to our production, as well as thoughts and ideas about our show.  Basically, this blog will be a cyber storeroom where we'll put up anything and everything relating to our show that has even the slightest possibility of shedding a little light on our work.  I'll post pictures, videos, links, articles, anything at all that might help us out.  If you have something you think the rest of the company might want to see, send it to me and I'll get it up here.

Please note that we will continue to use e-mail for things like rehearsal schedules and other announcements.  The blog is just for fun, and it won't have the most up-to-date information about rehearsals.

Thanks for reading and thanks for being a part of this production.