High-energy 'Footloose' at Croswell Opera House is perfect summertime show

ADRIAN — For those of us of, um, a certain age, the movie “Footloose” was one of those films that helped define the 1980s. Along with other movies like “Fame” and “Flashdance” and the first “Top Gun,” these were films that became icons of the era and created a whole raft of hit songs besides.

That’s not to say that “Footloose” was exactly Great American Cinema (although, OK, it did have Kevin Bacon, which is something). The plot — boy from the big city moves to a small town, discovers that among its pitfalls is that (horror of horrors!) dancing is prohibited, and takes on The Powers That Be, changing their minds and getting them to allow a school dance — is thin and resolves its central issue way too easily.

But then there’s that music: bouncy, energetic, toe-tapping, dance-in-your-seats numbers like “Holding Out for a Hero,” “Let’s Hear it For the Boy,” and the title track of course, and a dash of romance too with “Almost Paradise.”

More: Croswell Opera House stages musical version of movie 'Footloose'

When “Footloose” was turned into a stage musical — leaving the plot unchanged, which was either a good thing or not, depending on your point of view about it — all those tunes stayed, fortunately. And the new tunes written to flesh out the show seem for the most part like they belong in the story, rather than being mere filler.

Having said that, it’s true that the show’s funniest song, “Mama Knows,” exists basically just to give Ren’s friend Willard his moment in the spotlight. But with Mama telling us not to use a toaster in the shower, not to eat anything bigger than your head, not to buy a chandelier unless you have a ceiling, and other such helpful advice, the tune does bring the laughs.

And the musical as staged by the Croswell Opera House is rollicking, high-octane and lots of fun from beginning to end.

The highly talented cast, directed by Erin Pifer in her Croswell-directing debut, definitely gets the most out of this show. There’s plenty of comedy, a dash of poignancy, and, yes, a huge amount of roof-raising in all those massive production numbers.

The production is headlined by Griffin Yeater in a rock-solid performance as Ren. Yeater has both the vocal chops and the dance ability to carry the story right along, and he and the equally fantastic Aiyanna Fivecoat as Ariel make a very believable pairing. Fivecoat has her own considerable vocal abilities, and besides her fine solo work, she and Yeater sound terrific together in “Almost Paradise.”

Ariel’s friends, Rusty, Urleen, and Wendy Jo, played by Gabrielle Blondin, Anjewel Lenoir and Elise Brown, are great fun to watch, never mind that they make an excellent vocal ensemble too.

That trio gives “Footloose” some notable comic-relief moments, but the best character of all when it comes to comedy is, hands down, Willard. And that role is played to a T by Maxwell Lam, who gives Willard every bit of the physical and verbal comedy he should have.

Also doing fine work throughout are Megan Beckett as Ren’s mother, Ethel; D. Ward Ensign as Rev. Moore; Cyndy Brookover as Vi Moore; and Ben Logue as Chuck Cranston. Megan Sterling has a brief but really funny role as Betty Blast, the diner owner whose roller-skating ability leaves much to be desired.

Ensign and Brookover, in fact, make another very nice pairing. We all know, as the audience, about the tragedy the Moores suffered years earlier — the reason for the whole ban on dancing (and just about everything else young people normally get into) — and Rev. Moore just seems to wear his pain in an almost physical way sometimes. When the two characters finally are able to move toward each other emotionally, Ensign and Brookover make that into an especially sweet moment.

In all, a whopping 52 people make up the Croswell’s cast, whether in named roles or as part of an extremely hard-working ensemble that’s called upon to sing all those big production numbers and make their way through Jessica Briggs’ and Sarah Nowak’s smart, high-energy choreography. At the same time, music director Ray Nowak and the orchestra certainly do their own tour de force work to make the tunes really come alive.

The task of costuming all those dozens and dozens of cast members falls to a team led by designer Chris Sancho, who gives everyone a look appropriate for small-town USA in 1984, whether it’s jeans and tennis shoes for the students or a track suit for Coach Dunbar (played by Megan Clark or, in one performance, Kylie McElrath).

Pifer has a nice eye for what the overall look and feel of this show needs to be, and she makes the most of the onstage space. People move around the stage well, have interesting things to do even if they’re in the background of a scene, and the entire production — while opening night DID clock in at almost two and a half hours with intermission, which is rather long for this “shorter” version of the show — moves along briskly and never bogs down.

The latter point is especially a challenge given that sometimes actors have to get offstage, change costume, and get right back out there for a new scene. But it all works and never drags.

Doug Miller’s set design also helps in that area, because it’s efficient and has set pieces that are easily moved on and offstage. And those of us who have long admired Miller’s attention to the smallest details to fill out a scene visually get some satisfaction in that area too; just spend a little time looking around the “behind a gas station” set at everything that’s there.

Other than a few very small problems on Friday’s opening night, such as with getting mikes turned on in time or with having a sound cue come in a touch later than it should have — Ariel asked her dad what music he was listening to before the audience could actually hear it — things unfolded smoothly on the technical side, no small feat for such a huge production.

And so, this is a production that, besides a slate of strong performances overall, has lots of singing and dancing, familiar music, plenty of energy, and a light, feel-good plot. All that makes “Footloose” a production that just seems kind of perfect for a summertime Croswell show.

If you go 

WHAT: “Footloose” 

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 16, and Friday, June 17; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 18; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 19 

WHERE: Croswell Opera House, 129 E. Maumee St., Adrian 

TICKETS: Adults $20-$40, students $15-$25 

HOW TO ORDER: By calling 517-264-7469 or online at croswell.org 

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Review: 'Footloose' at Croswell is perfect summertime show