“FOOTLOOSE” CUTS LOOSE ON THE SUNSET STAGE THIS SUMMER
Preview: July 12, 2007 * Opens: July 13, 2007 * Closes: August 5, 2007
ELM GROVE, WI - Everybody cut loose! “Footloose,” the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical based on the hit movie of the 80s, dances onto the Furlan Auditorium stage at Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove, July 13 - August 5.
Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie adapted Pitchford’s original screenplay about a teen and his mother who move from the city to a small farming community where dancing is against the law. The rockin' rhythm of the original score includes new songs celebrating the wisdom of listening to young people while guiding them with a warm heart and an open mind. Fans of the 1984 soundtrack from the album that spent ten weeks at #1 will hear and see their favorites, such as “Footloose,” “Holding Out for a Hero,” Somebody’s Eyes,” “I’m Free,” “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” and “Almost Paradise,” along with others.
Sunset Artistic Director Mark Salentine has received high praise for each of the past three summer musicals he has directed and he expects even greater reaction for his fourth. “We’ve got a stellar production team in musical director Bill Busch and choreographer Melissa Bloch,” says Salentine, “and our ‘Footloose’ cast is absolute dynamite. I’m hearing soloists in our group who should be on American Idol, we’ve got dancers who move like they were born to fly, and we’re blessed with professional actors choosing to grace our stage once again!”
The 28-member cast blends talented newcomers with those seasoned professionals. Many high school and college students make up the bulk of the cast working alongside such well-known actors as Bryce Lord and Mary C. DeBattista, who play the Reverend Shaw and his wife, Vi. Shaw is the character who led the ban on dancing and who the new kid in town must face off against. As a matter of fact, because of a performance conflict, Salentine will replace Lord for one performance only on July 20.
Resident Scenic Designer J. Michael Desper designed and will create, with the help of volunteers, a transformational unit set of varying levels where doors, windows, basketball hoops, and even train bridges appear and disappear. Professional lighting designer Daniel Weiermann will create the many visual effects for over 25 different scenes. Ellen Kozak, a professional costumer, will get assistance from Kathy Smith to help provide the many 1980s looks. Jennifer Allen will do properties work, and Jan Pritzl, a devoted Sunset regular for decades, will fill the sound needs. Jeremiah Shaw and Lukas Condie will stage manage.
Tickets for Footloose are $20.00. Group rates for 15 or more people are available.
***A “Sit & Play” Workshop for children ages 2-11 will be offered in conjunction with the 2:00pm performance on August 5th. Bring your child to the Sunset Studio to attend a performing arts workshop. While you enjoy the 2:00 p.m. performance, your child will act, sing, dance, and create. We will divide the Sit & Play stars into smaller groups based on age. Then your child will spend the afternoon with our amazing instructors participating in theatre games, acting out children’s stories, dancing, making masks, costumes, and instruments. Cost for the workshop is $24 per child (receive a 20% discount for each additional child).
For more information or to order tickets by telephone, call the Box Office at (262) 782-4430. Box Office hours are Monday through Friday 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. and Saturdays 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
NEW - TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE!