Entertainment

Maui OnStage to get ‘Footloose’ in Wailuku

Youth cast helps bring timeless tale to life

Breaking box office records when it opened on Broadway in 1998, the musical "Footloose" has remained popular for decades with its combination of memorable music, energetic dancing and uplifting story.

Co-directed by Tina Kailiponi and Francis Tau'a, a new production of "Footloose" by the Maui OnStage Education and Youth Program will open Aug. 15 at the Iao Theater.

"The themes of it really attracted us, based on the current climate with things swiftly changing and the kids being the ones who typically initiate change in our world," said Kailiponi.

The show is based on the 1984 hit film about Chicago teenager Ren McCormack, who moves to a small town where dancing has been banned. His fight for self-expression, acceptance and understanding speaks to anyone who has ever challenged unfair rules or felt like an outsider.

"Francis and I have been wanting to do 'Footloose' for a long while," said Kailiponi. "We've been talking about it over the last couple of years. King Kekaulike High School was supposed to do 'Footloose' in the spring of 2020, but they weren't able to because of COVID. The more we talked about it, the more we were like, 'You know what, we want to do it.'"

The play features a cast of 34, including Ren McCormack, who is played by Samuel Castillo, while Alana Robalinho plays Ariel Moore, the daughter of the local preacher the Rev. Shaw Moore, who enforces the dancing ban and is played by Zachary Bulcao-Moore.

"We have a great group of teens," said Kailiponi. "We are fortunate to have almost every high school on the island represented, which is always exciting for us when we do a summer show."

Adapted for the stage by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, the show's popular songs include Kenny Loggins' "Footloose," Deniece Williams' "Let's Hear It for the Boy," "Almost Paradise," and Sammy Hagar's "The Girl Gets Around."

The soundtrack reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and sold over 17 million copies worldwide. "Footloose" and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" were No. 1 hits.

"There's the singing and dancing and acting elements of things," said Kailiponi. "But we also incorporate that we have to build the set and paint it, and we have a whole tech crew team. We have created this environment for the kids to be able to do a little bit of everything."

The young actors were surprised to learn that dancing has been banned in some American communities. "They couldn't wrap their heads around that," she said. "Even to this day, there are still some laws on the books in some smaller towns that currently don't allow dancing."

The most famous example, which inspired the plot of "Footloose," was Elmore City in Oklahoma. Proponents of the ban included the Rev. F.R. Johnson of the United Pentecostal Church, who pronounced: "No good has ever come from a dance."

In 1980, high school students successfully lobbied to hold a school prom, forcing local officials to lift the ban.

Oscar and Golden Globe Award-winner Dean Pitchford heard about the town and drafted a script and lyrics built around a big-city teen reluctantly transplanted to a small town that had banned music and dancing.

The name of lead character Ren was based on an amalgam of the first names of Elmore City High's prom organizers and junior class officers Rex Kennedy and Leonard Coffee.

Besides the show's memorable music and energetic dancing, an important theme relates to a community grieving. "A lot of folks look at 'Footloose' as a big dance show and they're just banning dancing," said Kailiponi. "'Footloose' is really a show about a community grieving. The whole reason dancing was banned was because there was a group of four teens that died in a car crash who had just come from a dance, and one of them was the Reverend's son. So overall, the musical is a healing piece."

Another important theme in the musical involves listening to young people and respecting their voices, "and giving them power, because adults don't have all the answers," she noted. "As generations continue, we have to listen to what they're saying because they might have something. They know what they're talking about."

"Footloose" will be presented at 7 p.m. Aug. 15 and 2 p.m. Aug. 16. Additional showings will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 22 and 2 p.m. Aug. 23. Tickets are $10 at mauionstage.com. The show is sponsored by the Wave of Harmony Foundation in partnership with The Gilbert and Aileen Kam Chuck Charitable Trust.