Lindero students are ‘Footloose’

Play review



Lindero Canyon Middle School students got a chance to show off their talents when they presented the popular stage musical “Footloose” at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza’s Scherr Forum last week.

The show has been one of the most frequently performed school musicals ever since lyricist Dean Pitchford adapted the popular 1984 film to the Broadway stage in 1998. The soundtrack included a number of Top 40 hits, among them the title song (a hit for Kenny Loggins), as well as “Almost Paradise” and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” all of which were retained for the musical adaptation.

The premise is nothing new: The wild new kid in town upends the residents of a repressed middle America small town, showing them the errors of their ways and encouraging everyone to have fun, kick up their heels and enjoy life.

The dancing in “Footloose” is too demanding for middle-school kids, but choreographer Catrina Quintanilla came up with a way of concentrating more on unison hand movements than complex dance steps, something that is often done with beginning performers. It’s hard enough memorizing lines, hitting marks, and acting and singing, and all did a fine job.

The central character is teen rebel Ren McCormack (Kyle Lewis), who comes with his mother from Chicago to the small town of Bomont to find a new life after his father abandoned them. He finds that dancing has been banned due to the social stifling imposed by the local minister, Shaw Moore (R.J. Seutter).

When we first saw Kyle Lewis two years ago, he was a pintsized, precocious sixth-grader in Lindero’s production of “The Music Man.” As the malapropspouting Mayor Shinn, Kyle had the audience in stitches, not only because he was at least a head smaller than everyone else, but because his movements and the delivery of his lines were laden with verve and gusto.

Now in eighth grade, Kyle has matured a lot as a performer. He still brings laughs with every move he makes, but he’s developed a marvelous stage presence to go with his kinetic acting abilities. When Ren dons an apron and an In-N-Out paper hat in a scene where he’s a waiter at a burger joint, the sight was just too funny for many members of the audience, even though he really wasn’t playing it for comedy. Kyle’s dancing has also improved a lot, and he showed off some terrific moves, especially during “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.”

Ren’s foil in the show is teen cowpoke Willard Hewitt, winningly played by Adam Fisher, who sang “Mama Says” and did a good job keeping a Texas accent intact. Mackie Kravitz was fetching as Ren’s girlfriend, Ariel, the minister’s daughter.

R. J. Seutter’s understated performance as the repressed clergyman reflected not anger at Ren’s attempts to reform the town, but his pain in having lost his own son.

Lauren Petersil showcased an attractive singing voice as the minister’s wife, Vi, in her featured numbers, especially in “Can You Find It in Your Heart.”

Theater veteran Erin Ticktin, who’s played prominent roles in a number of local theatrical shows (including Cabrillo Music Theatre’s “Cinderella” and the Rubicon’s “Hello! Ma Baby”), delivered a solid performance as Cowgirl Bobbi, singing the country-western number “Let’s Make Believe We’re in Love” to start off the second act.

Jordan Kerns was effective as Ren’s mother, Ethel, and Rebecca Zacuto was likable as Ariel’s chatty friend Rusty.

Producer/director L.J. Stevens and vocal director Zach Spencer were responsible for working with the attractive and talented cast.



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