School Musical 'Footloose' Opens

Do you feel like you have been working too hard? Or do you ever feel like time is just holding you down? Are you in the mood to cut loose? Chartiers Valley High School has the cure.

“Footloose.”

And that’s exactly what the high school will offer when it opens the spring musical tonight at 7:30.

“Footloose” is a musical whose main character, Ren, is forced to move to a new town where it is illegal to dance. After dancing in the school hallway and getting in trouble with the principal, the new guy is informed that the ban on dance dates back five years when local teenagers were involved in a deadly car accident returning from a dance.

Distraught by the law, Ren vows to "take on this town" as he motivates his classmates to rebel and throw a dance all while falling for Ariel, the reverend’s daughter. Meanwhile, it’s the reverend who encouraged the town to enforce no dancing.

“‘Footloose’ features a lot of dancing,” senior Jamie Bruno said. “Chartiers Valley is unique because we have one of the best dance programs. Vocals and acting are important, too, but we work on dance compared to other schools.”

Bruno said her experience dancing in the musical has been a lot of fun and describes her character, Ariel, as “spunky” and “rebellious.” Bruno has been in the musical all four years of high school and was nominated for a Gene Kelly Award last year for best actress.

Her counterpart, Connor McRory, plays Ren and said he is happy the musical involves a lot of dancing.

“I am a strong dancer and have been doing it since a young age,” he said. “It is nice the musical showcases dancing.”

McRory who takes dancing, acting and singing classes outside of Chartiers Valley, has been a part of the Civic Light Opera for several years and plans to major in musical theater at Penn State.

Behind the approximately 60 students in the cast is director Kim McVay. She said she chose “Footloose” because of the diverse cast of students in theater.

“We have a great group of leaders that are well-rounded,” she said.

Chartiers Valley High School musical “Footloose” will run from tonight through Saturday. Tickets to the production will be available for $8 at the door before each 7:30 p.m. show.