Arts & Entertainment

'Footloose' to Open Summer Play Series in the Park

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' will also to be presented for free at Pleasant Valley Park.

Ridge Light Opera of New Jersey, in conjunction with the Bernards Township  Parks and Recreation Department, announced the the first of the annual summer Plays in the Park, "Footloose," to be presented in the outdoor amphitheater at Pleasant Valley Park on a total of six nights, July 14-16 and July 21-23 at 8 p.m.

The second production, to be presented by Trilogy Repertory Co. and Bernards Township, will be “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” That play will be presented on July 29 and 30, and Aug. 4-6 at 8 p.m., also at the outdoor amphitheater at Pleasant Valley Park off Valley Road, next to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Lyons.

Admission to both productions is free, according to a news release from Ridge Light Opera. Donations are accepted. Bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. For information, call 908-204-3003.

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“Plays in the Park” has been a local summer tradition for many years. “Footloose” is produced by Lauran Corson and directed by Bill Corson, with musical direction by Marion Doerr, and choreography by Beth Amiano Gleason. Executive producer for “Plays in the Park” is Lorrie Lane. 

"Footloose" is a popular musical that tells the story of Ren McCormack, a Chicago teen who moves to a small town where dancing has been banned. The story is loosely based on events which took place in the small town of Elmore City, Oklahoma, where dancing was banned for almost one hundred years until 1980, when its high school students gained permission to dance at their prom.

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The movie version of “Footloose” opened on Feb. 17, 1984, and starred Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest and Sarah Jessica Parker. 

The movie was nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe and a Grammy. The stage adaptation by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie featured lyrics by Pitchford and music by Tom Snow, with additional numbers by Kenny Loggins, Sammy Hagar, Jim Steiniman, and Eric Carmen.The show opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theater in October, 1998 and ran for seven hundred nine performances, receiving four Tony Award nominations.

Theatergoers will remember hit songs such as “Footloose,” “The Girl Gets Around,” “Holding Out for a Hero,” “ Let’s Hear It for the Boy” and “Almost Paradise.”

The cast to appear in the Pleasant Valley Park production includes numerous local performers, including Jackie Adams, Tyler Ableson, Christine Anderson, Todd Bennington, Rachel Cantor, Angie Cocuzza, Alex Corson, Julie Corson, Lauran Corson, Kate Coultas, Nik Delli Paoli, Sophie Dewil, Ryan Doerr, Michael Doerr, Marion Doerr, Tom Donelan, Donna Lee Donelan, Sophia Donelan, Ellie Escher, Christian Fentress, Samantha Ferrara, Jim Gates, Sam Grubb, Allyson Hern, Alex Herrle, Maria Herrle, Brian Herrle, Joanna Hoty Russell, Megan Hurley, Mariella Klinger, Corinna Klinger, Max Littman, Molly Littman, Lisa Littman, Ethan Lynch, Lauren MacManemin, Rick Morley, Lauren Morra, Jeff O’Donnell, Corin Pankow, Catherine Pankow, Allie Pisano, Chuck Pisano, Rhonda Pisano, Jessica Presuto, Danielle Presuto, J. Eric Roper, Ted Roper, Kelly Scharff, Emily Sheppard, Shana Tracy, Will Wallace, Michelle Wilson, Laurie Wood, and Jennifer Wydra.

Bernards Township has produced more than 20 years of family entertainment and achieved several awards for excellence in theater programming, the release said. Most prominent are the awards from ACT (Achievement in Community Theater) and the “Excellence in Cultural Arts Programing” award.

“Footloose” is made possible, in part, by support from New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the release said.

Ridge Light Opera was founded in December 2003, to preserve and maintain awareness of the musical treasures of light opera and musical theatre of the 20th century. Shows include Light Opera (September Song); Opera (OPERAgioius!!), cabarets (based on the works of composers like Gershwin and Kern) as well as full scale productions like “The Mikado” and “Pirates of Penzance.” Additional information is availabe on the Ridge Light Opera website.       


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