Lafayette students with an undeniable urge to dance their hearts out can look forward to the Marquis Players’ spring production of “Footloose: The Musical.”
The show was originally planned for the spring of 2020 but was canceled due to the school’s shutdown following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is now returning to the stage with a different cast and new ideas.
“Footloose” is set in a small town where dancing is outlawed following a car crash that killed four teenagers who were coming home from a dance. After moving to town, the protagonist, Ren McCormack, tries to convince the town to allow dancing again, a process that will help them all to heal from the tragedy.
Though “Footloose” is a musical full of dance choreographies and teenage rebellion, it is more than just an upbeat production. There are more serious undertones including themes of mental health, grief and loss. According to Kate Bettez ’23, director of the Marquis Players, these concepts are dealt with in a light-hearted way.
“It’s a show about shared grief, but then also how we come out of that and we still celebrate joy,” Bettez said.
“There are a lot of moments that would be super fun for the audience,” Timmy Mayrose ’23, president of Marquis Players, added.
To keep the performance fresh, the Marquis Players are switching things up from the last time the musical was planned. According to Mayrose, the group is not holding on to any of the elements that were developed for the 2020 show — none of the 48 cast members for the original production will be recast automatically. Instead, every interested performer must audition again, even if they were cast in the original production, and auditions are open to students who weren’t at Lafayette during the original production.
Mayrose, whose first show at Lafayette was set to be the original production of “Footloose” in 2020, is looking forward to getting back into acting.
“I know how absolutely awesome [acting] can be, and also sometimes stressful. I’m excited to get back on stage because that’s where I started,” he said. “I started with ‘Footloose’ and I get to finish with ‘Footloose.’ We are really excited to have a fresh take on it.”
“For a small section of people, it’s a full circle moment, but for everyone else, it’s a really fun show,” Bettez added.
The performance will be held from April 13 through April 15. More information on auditions can be found on the Marquis Players’ Instagram account, @marquisplayers.
