Bravery, and Vulnerability: ‘Footloose’ Opens in Bethel

BETHEL, CT — This weekend marks the town’s inaugural "Broadway in Bethel" celebration, a partnership among the school’s Theater Boosters, the Chamber of Commerce and Bethel Arts. There’ll be all sorts of special this-weekend-only offers in restaurants and shops all across town.

The centerpiece of the weekend festival is the high school’s production of the crowd-pleaser "Footloose the Musical,” the musical stage show adapted from the 1984 hit film.

Crystal Morgan teaches history at Bethel High School and is also the director of “Footloose.” She says she chose the show for all the obvious reasons.

“I was really drawn to the music!” Morgan told The Patch. “I think everybody is! It’s rock-n-roll, it’s fun!”

With great music must come great dance numbers, and Morgan says that her young hoofers, under the guidance of choreographer Jenn Verderosa, uphold their end of the bargain fabulously in what she calls a "dance-heavy" show.

But it’s the "quiet moments," she says, that will stun the audience as much as the over-the-top dance numbers. Morgan praises the musical’s book, "the story of a family that’s trying to put its
pieces back together, of several teenagers trying to find their way in the world. I think there are so many things our kids can relate to, that our audience can relate to, with that."

Well, sure, but it also has the Jim Steinman/Dean Pitchford pop anthem "Holding Out for a Hero," so its book could be your grocery list and we’d still stand in line to see it.

Morgan is a "theater kid" herself, growing up in Bethel, and graduating BHS in 2006. She progressed through the same musical theater program she now oversees. So she seemed a good person to ask a question long on our mind: How is it that the spring musical grabs hold harder, penetrates more deeply, and dwells inside a person longer than any other high school club or activity or team sport?

"Theater takes an immense amount of bravery and vulnerability," Morgan said. "So no matter what part you're playing, it requires you to step outside of yourself. And so when you have this collective group of people that have agreed to do that with one another, agreed to take that journey with one another — that's where they really become so bonded to one another because they all wear their hearts on their sleeves," she explained. "They have to, you know, that's part of what theater is."

Theater in any high school is a big deal, but at Bethel HS it’s beginning to border on the enormous. Cris Olexy, president of the newly-minted Bethel High School Theater Booster 501(c), estimates there are about 60 students directly involved in the production, with another 10-15 school teachers and administrators in key positions.

That’s big, but Olexy believes it should be bigger. She hopes to tap into a local pool of lighting professionals and Equity actors whom she can enlist to teach master classes and extend the high school program deeper into the town.

"Some of these kids are going to have careers doing this and we really want to set them off, and we really want the town to enjoy themselves while watching this happen," she said.

In the meantime, there are bills to pay. Olexy’s new group has been tasked with fundraising and a lot of the other non-fun jobs necessary to keep the Lekos lit. With two of her own children in the program, she has more than enough skin in the game.

In fact, "Broadway in Bethel" is pretty much her baby. She has been working tirelessly alongside the Chamber of Commerce and Bethel Arts to ensure the celebration’s inaugural run will be far from its last. In the end, it will all come down to money, and that's why the Bethel merchants are playing such a big role.

"We have encouraged local restaurants and shops to cross-promote with us. We promote their businesses and the specials they are having for the weekend, and they promote our show. We’re pushing shopping and a show, or dinner and a show. A lot of restaurants are participating, so we are building up the community involvement."

"The response," according to Morgan, "has been overwhelmingly positive from everyone involved."

She sees that as a long overdue payback.

"There so many businesses that have been so supportive of us throughout the years, whether it's sponsorships or ad sales or whatever. It's nice to be able to have a more symbiotic relationship where we can scratch each other's backs."

'Footloose the Musical' will be presented at Bethel High School on March 22 and 23 at 7 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, March 24 at 2 p.m.