Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
“Footloose” is a story about relationships, standing up for what one believes is right and growing up.
It’s also full of 1980s fashion, music, lots of dancing and returns to the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts July 2-11.
Sophie Beck, who plays Ariel in the musical based on the 1984 hit movie “Footloose,” said what she loves about dancing is, “I think it’s just a really great form of self-expression and celebration. And I think my favorite part about dancing is being able to communicate through something other than words, and connect to other people, too.”
Bryce Williamson, the actor taking on the role of Ren McCormack originated in the movie by Kevin Bacon, said, “Kind of on that, I would say very much the community aspect of it. I feel like that’s kind of what ‘Footloose’ is about. I know it’s about dancing, but specifically the community part about dancing and sort of how people are able to come together and connect over this super-awesome art form. And I feel like, just even when we’re just in the rehearsal room practicing the dances, they’ll be moments where (Artistic Director) Scott (Michaels) is like, ‘think about something,’ and we’ll just be like goofing off and being silly. I feel like those are the moments that are so much fun, and I feel like that really shines through in the show because we are just having fun and not taking it super seriously.”
Beck said she’s been dancing since college. She did a lot of aerial arts training growing up.
“I was always moving, but I really started technically dancing in college for musical theater training. I would say just because I’m type A and I like when there’s a right answer, I would say I love like technical modern style of dance where it’s more rigid. So I loved ‘Cats,’ that was really fun,” she said. “But also, I’ve been able to explore more like lifestyle dancing in ‘Footloose.’ And I feel like that has really been showing up for me in this show and it’s really fun.”
Williamson, on the other hand, started dancing when he was in high school and then through college.
“I love ballet. I love like the super-athletic jumps and turns. I feel like that’s really where I shine through, but also like Sophie, I feel like being here and just being able to meet people from all different backgrounds and sort of seeing what styles are different people good at. Just being able to see that and connect with them and sort of like learn to not take it so seriously and have more fun with it is a good skill set to have,” he stated.
“Footloose” tells the story of teenager Ren who moves with his mom from Chicago to a small town that has forbidden dancing and music. Ren attempts to overturn the ban on dancing enforced by the efforts of a local minister, who also happens to be Ariel’s father.
If Beck was told she could no longer dance, she said it would just be terrible.
“I’m always dancing. If there’s music playing, like it’s manifesting somewhere in me, physically, regardless of where I am, it’s just how I am. That would be like life without joy,” she stated.
Williamson definitely agreed.
“I feel like dance is so much. I know like us specifically doing musical theater, obviously dance is a big part of our day-to-day lives in what we do, but I feel like people who don’t really do this - whether you realize it or not - dancing is such a big part of our lives,” he said.
If one goes out with friends, like, for example, to a bar. Bars have bands and everyone is dancing and moving, whether they realize it or not.
“They are dancing and that is just a big part of everyone’s lives,” Williamson said.
The Wagon Wheel production of “Footloose” is the first time Beck and Williamson have been in the musical, which features the iconic roles of Ren and Ariel.
“I feel like, obviously everyone knows ‘Footloose,’ everyone knows Kevin Bacon and the iconic scene where he’s dancing in the barn and swinging on the poles and everything, and that’s great and he’s great and that’s awesome, but I feel like what’s so great about being able to do this show is being able to bring my own interpretation of the character and see and be able to work through that and find like how I can relate to him, rather than trying to imitate what Kevin Bacon did or like what anybody else who might have played this role before me, is being able to bring myself and really let that shine through in a production,” Williamson explained.
Wagon Wheel alumna McKenzie Kurtz played Ariel in the theater’s 2017 production of “Footloose.” Kurtz has appeared in numerous other roles since then, from Heather Chandler in “Heathers” Off-Broadway to Glinda in the 20th anniversary of “Wicked” on Broadway and Princess Anna in Disney’s “Frozen” on Broadway.
For Beck to take on a role last played by Kurtz, Beck said, “I think, for me, besides McKenzie Kurtz because that’s like a whole other thing, but when I first watched the movie I didn’t realize how different it was from the musical. So I had read the musical a bunch of times and then I watched the movie. It was like, ‘Oh, this is so different, especially for Ariel’s arc,’ and I feel like the musical focuses a lot more on her personal life and what she’s been through. And I do see a lot of myself in her, and I feel like really channeling that as I go through the story with her has been really helping me, and also taking off the pressure of reviving McKenzie Kurtz’s role.”
Beck said Kurtz is a big inspiration to her, too, so it’s awesome to be able to play the role.
The relationship between Ariel and her dad, and the lack of a relationship between Ren and his father is explored in the show.
“I feel like Ariel’s relationship with her dad is just, they’re both going through the same thing and they’re just dealing with it in complete opposite ways,” Beck said. “So, of course, that’s going to clash. They’re both so focused on their own healing that they’re not letting each other in. Ariel has all of these walls up and she’s kind of lashing out because all she wants to do is get out, that’s what she thinks, but really all she wants is to be accepted by her dad.”
Her dad blames himself for the death of his son, Bobby, and he places that feeling of blame on his family, she said. “That really sets up for the top of the show when he’s really not letting her do anything, and she’s like the classic rebellious teenager, but she’s just a girl who’s trying to grieve her brother.”
For Ren, Williamson said, “I feel like he goes on such a journey just like from when he gets to Bomont and first meeting Rev. Moore, Ariel’s dad, and just sort of how they clash with each other because the whole reason dancing is outlawed in this town is because her brother and his son, Bobby, was one of the kids that died in the accident, which is why he banned dancing and all this stuff, and Ren’s dad, obviously, leaves when he’s still in Chicago, before they come to Bomont, so I feel like at the end of the day, the story is about how they sort of help each other through both of their individual grieves.”
Beck, from Los Angeles, is a rising senior at Texas State with one year left. She is earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre. After graduation, she plans to move to New York or “wherever life takes me.”
Williamson is originally from Marietta, Ga., and just graduated from Shenandoah University, Winchester, Va., with his BFA in Musical Theatre. After he’s done at the Wagon Wheel this summer, he’ll be “moving up to the City, doing the thing, audition and seeing what happens.”
Tickets may be purchased online at wagonwheelcenter.org, by calling the box office at 574-267-8041, or by visiting Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts at 2515 E. Center St., Warsaw.
