by Erica Zhu ’23
The Footloosians of Sem kicked off their Sunday shoes mid-February to give us a wonderful performance. Between the angelic voices and energetic dancing, Willard and his crew’s Mama Says – played by our one and only Gram Dogherty ’22, Ari Froehlich ’24, Benecio Carpenter ’24, and Michael Vodzak ’24 seemed to steal the show.
Even backstage, it’s hard to stand still without singing along or gaining some extra pep in your step. Everyone played their part in contributing to the magical love story between Ren and Ariel (Kieran Sherry ’22 and Ainsley Edam ’23). From problem solving with costumes and the set to bringing out energy when they danced and sung. Chuck Cranston played by Liam Philips-Magraw ’23 had us raising our fists. We also had sympathized with Julia Poole ’22 and Jake Ruderman ’22 who played concerned parents Vi and Shaw Moore. As one of our longest running shows after a period of being unable to runt at all, Footloose proved to be successful from it’s most intimate moments to to the classic comedy we know and love.
Being out on stage means we always need a crew. Footloose needed about three: one for costumes, one for the book , and of course, one backstage. Footloose had an impressive number of quick changes for its last scene, the prom. During this scene, most actors traded their leather or jean jackets for suits, pretty dresses and even different wigs! The booth was also given a run for its money, being both the command center and the place where all cues were put into action. Thanks to their management, the show went on without a hitch. Last but not least, we had a backstage crew that set the scenes and moved all the heavy machinery they could while staying virtually invisible to the audience. Both managers stage right and left were able to keep the show going seamlessly regardless of a set malfunction or traffic jam backstage.
