Jasper’s drama students cut loose last week in their rendition of Footloose: The Musical.
Singing, dancing and fighting for the right to kick of their Sunday shoes, the Jasper Junior/Senior High School students elicited laughs and rousing applause from their audiences over the course of their three-day run.
The students selected Footloose themselves from a number of scripts and spent months preparing for their moment in the spotlight.
The musical tells the story of Ren McCormack, a young, upbeat Chicago man—expertly played by Simon Golla. McCormack moves to a small town in the United States to live with his aunt and uncle, only to learn town council has banned dancing and rock music.
Oppressed by the rules, McCormack sets about righting the city’s wrongs, showing the town’s minister and town council that dancing is a valuable part of life—and winning the heart of his love interest in the process.
Grade 12 student Cheyenne Henderson—a skilled dancer, who has studied under Nicole Koebel of the Jasper Dance Program—choreographed the show, teaching her fellow students all the moves they’d need to know to pull off a production about the right to shimmy and shake.
She also starred in the play for two of the three nights, playing McCormack’s love interest, Ariel Moore.
The third night the role was played by Elena Kellis, who starred in Sweeney Todd earlier this year.
As well as nearly 30 actors, the play also had a live band, led by the school’s band and drama teacher, Jonathan Thornton. He was accompanied by Hayden Kreizenbeck on drums, Delfina Villacorta-Mejia on bass, Taylor Orr on flute, teacher Chad Krayenhoff on percussion and Alys Thomas on alto saxophone.
Stealing the show was Chase Thompson, who played Willard Hewitt, a sweet, but dimwitted, high school student who can’t dance. Thompson had the crowd in stitches as he fumbled his way through some dance moves and attempted to learn from McCormack.
Footloose was the final production for the senior drama class, including many Jasper Junior/Senior High School graduates, who will celebrate their commencement this weekend.
Nicole Veerman
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