‘FOOTLOOSE’
TUESDAY 7/9-SUNDAY 7/28. Arkansas Repertory Theatre. $20-$65.
What’s there left to say about “Footloose,” the second show in the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s now-summertime-situated season? Ren McCormack, a Chicago teen with a penchant for swinging and swaying away his troubles, moves to small-town Bomont, where a local preacher has outlawed dancing in response to a tragedy. Romance blooms between Ren and the preacher’s daughter, Ariel. By the end, permission to groove is reinstated and everyone walks away happy and healed. It’s a simple story with not a ton of meat on its bones, but the infectious pop rock cheese of tracks like “Footloose,” “Holding Out for a Hero” and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” is undeniable. Take off your thinking cap for a night and enjoy the very resolvable problems of this movie-musical-turned-stage-musical on the 40th anniversary of the original Kevin Bacon-fronted film’s 1984 theatrical run. Get tickets here.