The success of the opening of Footloose last night at the Alexandra could be felt as the audience was making their way out of the theatre, dizzy from the fantastic finale that had us all on our feet. Full of laughter and great vocals, the musical certainly is not to be missed – and since it is only showing for a short week (only until the 23rd!) I urge anyone looking for a good time and a familiar story to grab some tickets.

While Footloose the musical is, of course, inspired by the 1984 film – a classic alongside other 80s dancing films such as Dirty Dancing – it does a great job at standing on its own. Tom Snow’s music sets the mood for the entire performance, introducing the setting of a small American town disrupted by the arrival of one sassy troublemaker Ren McCormack (Joshua Hawkins). The use of the stage during the performance was ingenious, allowing for many settings on the relatively small stage. A lot of the props were wheeled in, which created quick transitions between completely different sets. My personal favourite was the diner, Burger Blast, with its sofas that doubled as a car at the beginning of the show, but also with the perfect reference to the 80s: the waitresses in rollerskates.

Lucy Munden truly shone last night as Ariel Moore, and her performance of ‘Holding Out For A Hero‘ was one of the highlights of the night. Her strong vocals captivated the audience – first with ‘Holding Out For A Hero’ and then again and again throughout the show – and she had a great stage presence, playful to the end, but also showed great acting in the sadder parts of the musical. Footloose is her professional debut, and what a debut it is! She already looks very comfortable on a stage she easily commands, and I wish her much luck for the rest of her career – one that is looking very bright.

Besides Lucy Munden, a few other characters stole the show. Rev. Shaw Moore (Darren Day) might not be one of the most loveable characters, but Darren Day’s few solos stood out from the rest of the performance. Often by his side, Holly Ashton as Vi Moore was another great voice and stole the spotlight at a few points during the show with her very good acting. Last but certainly not least is Jake Quickenden as Willard, whose great (and often hilarious) acting made the show into what it was. To my disappointment, he did not sing for nearly the entire show, but he did finally come through and put on an amazing performance at the end with ‘Mama Says.’

As always, there are a few things that could have been improved, or moments I wish had been included (see: the iconic ‘Let’s dance!’ line from both Footloose films). For example, although Joshua Hawkins was generally a very good Ren, his singing at times looked difficult instead of effortless. This, however, disappeared in the second act, which was probably less demanding than the first. There was also the issue of accents, considering Footloose is not only very American but also very Southern American. I will say that all of their American accents were on point, but it was a bit funny at times seeing the actors momentarily forget to speak in a southern accent. The one person whom I have to commend for doing a great job with the accent, maintaining quite a good one the entire time, is Holly Ashton.

That said, all of this is nitpicking, and can very easily be explained by the fact all of these people were singing, dancing, and acting at the same time, which we all know is very impressive. Keeping the energy up the entire time while making sure everything else is done properly is not easy, but the whole cast achieved it. Overall, I spent an incredible night at Footloose. Musical aficionados and musical beginners alike will love revisiting this classic story along with catchy songs and great dancing.

Rating: 4/5

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