"Footloose" Production Blog: Where are we?

Bomont.

To quote Ren's Chicago friends, where the hell is Bomont? I mean, Ren says in the script, that people are flocking there from all over. But if that's the case, then why-oh-why can't I find it on Google Maps. And I looked! I really did!

Bomont is the setting for the show, but the authors of the play did not indicate exactly where in the world Bomont is located. It is in fact a fictional town, the only Bomont in the U.S. being an unincorporated community in West Virginia. Or so says Wikipedia. There are a few Beaumonts, in Texas, California, and Mississippi. And there is a Baylor County in Texas. The Beaumont in Texas is, however, not located in Baylor County.

For the purposes of this production, let's set Bomont in Oklahoma.

"But, Tim, why Oklahoma? Kind of arbitrary, don't you think? Did you choose Oklahoma because that's the name of your real favorite musical?"

Well, Oklahoma! is a great musical, ground-breaking in its time, but that's not the reason to set our Bomont in Oklahoma. As you may have discovered in a previous post, the story of Footloose is loosely based on a town in Oklahoma. Also, eastern Oklahoma is about the right distance from Chicago, where Ren and Ethel live before arriving in Bomont. So, for our production, Bomont will be located in the eastern section of Oklahoma, somewhere in the Tuskahoma/McAlester section of the state, if you look at a map.

I think the inspiration for our Bomont can be taken from two towns, Chelsea, OK and Seymour, TX. These are small towns, a bit of a distance from the interstates and big cities.

But what is Bomont like? Here are a few pictures to help us get an idea.

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