Footloose: The Musical, at Athenaeum Theatre - 2 hours 20 minutes, including interval

Light-hearted and fun, Footloose: The Musical is centred around change in conservative America in the 1980s.

Navigating it, especially when it is forced upon you, can be mighty difficult, especially when it leaves you feeling like a fish out of water.

That is the situation for the central figure in the story, Ren McCormack.

About to enter his senior year at high school, he and his mother Ethel move from bustling Chicago to small town Bomont after his father abandons them.

Facing financial pressures, Ren’s aunt and uncle have offered to put them up ... in the middle of nowhere.

Ren quickly finds that, far from what he is used to, Bomont is a very closed community (repressive, in fact), where there is little to do.

The figure of authority is the local preacher, deeply conventional Reverend Shaw Moore.

He is the one who appears to be chiefly responsible for sucking all the fun out of Bomont, after a tragic accident killed four young people five and half years earlier.

In short, much to Ren’s chagrin, rock ‘n roll and dancing are banned in the municipality, something Ren is about to challenge.

That is not before he falls out with several townsfolk, who follow the Reverend’s hard-nosed approach, be it at school, at work or at play.

Also, in Ren’s orbit is the preacher’s daughter, Ariel, who struggles with her father’s approach and is dating bad boy Chuck Cranston.

Ren and Ariel’s connection is palpable.

At the same time, after a less than auspicious meeting at school, Ren befriends slow witted, awkward cowboy Willard Hewitt who displays fierce loyalty to his mother.

Hewitt has a romantic interest in gregarious Rusty, a member of Ariel’s inner circle (and she in him), but is totally naïve when it comes to matters of the heart.

So, it is that Ren sets about turning this sleepy hollow on its head.

The conceit behind Footloose is loosely rooted in fact.

In Elmore City, Oklahoma, as a moral safeguard intended to curb alcohol-fuelled mischief and preserve the town’s upright image, dancing was prohibited.

That ban was introduced in 1898 and stood, until challenged, in 1979.

Footloose: The Musical, which opened on Broadway in 1998, is based on the screenplay of the 1984 movie by Dean Pitchford.

The stage adaptation is by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, with music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Pitchford.

Additional music is by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins and Jim Steinman.

Fuelled by popular numbers, including the title track, along with Let’s Hear It For The Boy and Holding Out For A Hero, DV Live’s production is buoyant and lively.

The cast plays up the comedic and dramatic elements of the script.

Vocally poignant, Jarrod Moore is bright and enthusiastic as the fresh-faced kid about to get himself in a whole heap of trouble.

Jordan Twigg brings swagger and drive to her portrayal of a frustrated Ariel, keen to shake up the status quo.

With imposing timbre in his voice, Stephen Mahy is a dominant figure as the hard-nosed minister.

Beautiful, sensitive vocalisation by Sophie Weiss sees her convincingly assume the character of the Reverend’s wife, Vi.

The scene stealer is undoubtedly Maverick Newman, who was so good in Murder for Two at Arts Centre Melbourne last year.

He plays the ungainly, goofball cowboy with delightful comic sensibility. The scene where Willard is taught to dance is one of the all-time greats on stage. It figuratively brings the house down.

Another to impress, with her larger-than-life representation of Willard’s romantic interest, Rusty, is Maddison Coleman. Not only is she funny, but she shows remarkable restraint in getting into character.

She is not the only one of the girls’ group to shine. Andrea Zappacosta as Wendy Jo and Angela Brischetto as Urleen lean into their roles with a great deal of spirit.

Justin Gray, too, generates the necessary antipathy as the arrogant Chuck Cranston.

I also loved Emma Russell in her dual, up-tempo parts, Ren’s youthful mother, Ethel and Betty Blast, the owner of the diner where Ren gets a job.

The ensemble hits its stride from the get go.

Harry Gill’s industrial-style sets, including scaffolding and graffitied, under rail designs, are evocative.

So, too, the video design, including the church’s stained-glass windows, by Matthew Osborne.

High leaping is just part of the well-ordered choreography by Benjamin Cure and Dan Ham.

Diverse and colourful costume design by Kim Bishop is well suited to the piece. Mahy is arresting in an elegant pin striped suit, while cowboy hats are par for the course. Enter Maverick Newman for starters.

Lighting design by Zac Krause is a cracker, while the night I saw it there were a few sound issues, although for the most part the design by Tom Hawker was solid.

Musical director Amy Cumming nails the big numbers – a wholehearted celebration seeing out the show.

Enthusiastically greeted by patrons, director David Venn has succeeded in giving Footloose: The Musical sizzle and spark.

It is on at Athenaeum Theatre until 24^th August, 2025.