MasterCard Broadway Series Houston
BROADWAY'S HOTTEST NEW MUSICAL
"FOOTLOOSE"
WILL CUT LOOSE IN
HOUSTON'S JONES HALL
MAY 11 - 16, 1999
WWW.FOOTLOOSELIVE.COM
Songs In Broadway's FOOTLOOSE Musical
Footloose .................. Music by Kenny Loggins,Lyric by Dean Pitchford and Kenny Loggins
On Any Sunday* .................................... Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
'The Girl Gets Around ............................... Music by Sammy Hagar, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
I Can't Stand Still* ................................. Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Somebody's Eyes .................................... Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Learning to Be Silent* .............................. Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Holding Out for a Hero ............................ Music by Jim Steinman, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Heaven Help Me* .................................. Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
I'm Free ................................................. Music by Kenny Loggins, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Let's Make Believe We're In Love* .......... Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Let's Hear It for the Boy .......................... Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Can You Find It in Your Heart?* ............... Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Mama Says* ......................................... Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchf ord
Almost Paradise ..................................... Music by Eric Carmen, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
Dancing Is Not a Crime* ........................ Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchford
I Confess* ........................................... Music by Tom Snow, Lyric by Dean Pitchf ord
* songs written for FOOTLOOSE the musical, not featured in the movie version of
FOOTLOOSE
Houston, TX - Houston's been 'holding out for a hero' and they are about to find one in
Broadway's hottest new musical FOOTLOOSE, coming to Jones Hall May 11 - 16 as part of the
1998 - 1999 MasterCard Broadway Series. Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 9. Prices range
from $25.00 - $49.50 and my be purchased at all Tickeunaster ticket centers or charge-by-phone
at 713-629-3700. A free pair of FOOTLOOSE shoelaces comes with every pair of tickets
purchased this Friday, Saturday and Sunday only at the Kroger Signature Store in Kingwood
(3410 Northpark Dr., Houston).
Following a celebrated October 22d opening on Broadway, the FOOTLOOSE First National
Tour shot out of the gate December 15'h at Cleveland's Allen Theatre. FOOTLOOSE continues to
dazzle audiences and critics alle both in New York and on the road. The Broadway production has
been championed by syndicate columnist Liz Sn-dth: "Broadway might havefound its next
long-running musical:
"FOOTLOOSE. " This dazzlingly energetic and acrobatic offering makes "Rent " look arthritic! ...
The show is magic, a colorful bundle ofjoy ... the dances are jaw-dropping. " The tour has also
been heartily embraced: "Let's hear itfor the boys--and girls-who generated enough energy onstage
at Cleveland's Allen Theatre to light up Playhouse Square with no helpfrom the power company. "
(Russ Musarra, Beacon Journal.) And, "Broadway-bright, full of vivid and appealing young
performers." "High voltage energy onstage. " (Marianne Evett, Plain Dealer.)
FOOTLOOSE is the story of a free-spirited kid who reminds a local minister that it's no sin to be
young. It is a high-energy dance musical and features one of the most popular scores ever written.
The film version of FOOTLOOSE, which starred Kevin Bacon and John Lithgow was one of the
most popular movies of the 80's and a rite of passage for many. The FOOTLOOSE soundtrack
written by Dean Pitchford in collaboration with Kenny Loggins, Tom Snow, Sanuny Hagar, Jim
Steinman and Eric Carmen featured six 'Top Forty' song including "Let's Hear It For The Boy,"
"Holding Out For A Hero," "Almost Paradise" and the title song "Footloose." These hits are joined
by nine new songs written expressly for the stage production, all by Dean Pitchford (lyrics) and
Tom Snow (music).
FOOTLOOSE is directed by Walter Bobbie ("Chicago"); the stage adaptation is by Walter
Bobbie and Dean Pitchford, based on the original screenplay by Dean Pitchford. Choreography is
by A.C. Ciulia, Scenic Design by John Lee Beatty and costumes by Toni-Leslie James.
The FOOTLOOSE cast features Joe Machota as Ren McCormack, the energetic young man
surprised to find himself in a town that outlaws dancing. Machota has toured as Joseph in Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and in Starlight Express, and understudied for David
Cassidy and filled in for Michael Crawford in EFX. Ariel Moore, rebellious daughter of the town's
minister the subject of Ren's interest, is played by Niki Scalera who makes her touring debut with
FOOTLOOSE. She appeared on Broadway in Neil Simon's Jake's Women and off-Broadway in
Our Town with Hal Holbrook. Her television credits include the Emmy nominated Don't Touch.
Daren Kelly, who plays the minister Shaw Moore, has appeared on Broadway, toured the United
States and Europe and has played in such television shows as MASH and Kate and Allie. Mary
Gordon Murray portrays his wife Vi Moore. She received a Tony Award nomination for the
Broadway production of Little Me, has performed extensively on Broadway and was in the original
off-Broadway cast of A. My Name is Alice.
Dean Pitchford (Writer / Lyricist) wrote the original screenplay for the motion picture
FOOTLOOSE as well as collaborating on the nine-song score. The soundtrack album has sold
over 18 million copies worldwide; it spent ten weeks at 41 on the Billboard Albums chart and it
gave radio six top-forty singles. It holds the re-cord as the largest selling soundtrack in the history
of CBS (Sony) Records and garnered Pitchford a Golden Globe nomination (Best Song
"Footloose") two Grammy nominations (Best R&B Song - "Dancing in the Sheets" and Best
Soundtrack Album - "Footloose") and two Academy Award nominations (Best Song - "Footloose"
and "Let's Hear It For The Boy".)
Walter Bobble (Director/Co-adaptor) is the Tony Award winning director of "Chicago". He has
worked with Andrea Martin on her new one-woman show Nude, Nude, Totally Nude, which
premiered at the Public Theatre and directed Christopher Durang's Duranp,, DuraDZ, six one-act
plays at the Manhattan Theatre Club Walter conceived and directed Rodgers and Hammerstein's
"A Grand Night For Singing" for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Director.
Tom Snow (Composer) has been making music, recording albums and writing hits for himself and
other artists - on record, on radio, in the United States and all over the world - for the last twenty
years. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture
("Let's Hear It For Tle Boy") from FOOTLOOSE and "After All" from Chances Are; and he has
twice been nominated for the Grammy Award: Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion
Picture - FOOTLOOSE soundtrack and Song of the Year - "Don't Know Much."
A. C. Ciulla (Choreographer) has choreographed for film (Puppet), television ("Viva Variety" on
Comedy Central), stage and recording artists including Madonna, Billy Porter, Debbie Gibson, K7,
Reel 2 Reel and Freedom Williams. He traveled throughout the world with the dance company
Waves and made his Broadway debut in "Starlight Express."
A family musical with electric music and dance, FOOTLOOSE is the sturdy tale of teenage
rebellion and the struggle to overcome well-intentioned but misguided oppression as it is juxtaposed
with the theme of coming to terms with loss - a boy's loss of his father and a man's loss of his son.
Casper Citron, WOR-AM says that FOOTLOOSE is, "an energized celebration of youth that
makes you want to dance in the streets with the kids ... Bursts onto Broadway with the kind of
fresh exuberance that strives to please everyone in their audience no matter their age. Go up this
musical mountain of a hit, and don't come down. "
Tickets for the Houston engagement of FOOTLOOSE will go on sale Friday, April 9 and can be purchased at all Tickewaster ticket centers including Foley's and Kroger. To charge-by-phone, call 713-629-3700; for groups of 20 or more, call 713-693-2692 or toU free at 1-800-889-8457. Ticket prices range from $25.00 to S49.50. Performance times are Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Sunday at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Please note: the 2:00 matinee on Saturday, May 15 will be captioned for the hearing impaired. The TDD# for tickets is l-800-755-6244. FOOTLOOSE is presented by Society for the Perfoming Arts. Visit the FOOTLOOSE web site at www.footlooselive.com.
The MasterCard Broadway Series is made possible by MasterCard International. With
headquarters in Purchase, NY, MasterCard International is a global payments company with one
of the world's most recognized brands. It is dedicated to helping more than 22,000 financial
institutions provide their customers with a variety of payments.
Additional support for the 1998 - 1999 MasterCard Broadway Series is provided by Continental
Airlines, Official and Exclusive Airline and Lucent Technologies, Official Communications
Technology Sponsor.
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FOOTLOOSE
In 1984, a movie called Footloose captured the heart of America and made it beat to the music of
a solid-gold soundtrack. 'Let's Hear It For The Boy,' 'Holding Out For A Hero," 'Almost
Paradise,' and-the title song 'Footloose,' went from gold to platinum to multi-platinum in record
time. Now a brand-new musical has Broadway on its feet. The director of Chicago partners with
the producers of Titanic and The King and I to tell the story of a free-spirited kid who reminds a
local minister that it's no sin to be young. With music that speaks to three generations, he takes an
uptight town and sets it FOOTLOOSE. It's got heart, it's got the beat, and the best part is, it's got
Broadway dancing again.
The film version of Footloose, which featured Kevin Bacon and John Lithgow, was one of the most
popular films of the early 80's, with domestic box office receipts well in excess of $1 00 million in
current dollars. Its soundtrack, which featured six 'Top Forty' hits, has been a huge seller, with over
16 million units sold worldwide. Several of the songs from the film, including 'Footloose,' 'Almost
Paradise,' and 'Let's Hear It For The Boy,' have become pop radio classics which continue to
enjoy wide and frequent radio play.
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Dean Pitchford, who wrote the story, screenplay, and lyrics for the film, is the key
creative force behind Footloose. Dean collaborated with a variety of composers,
including Kenny Loggins and Eric Carmen, to write the nine songs featured in the
film. With Tom Snow, who was responsible for 'Let's Hear It For The Boy,' Dean
has written nine new songs for the stage. Walter Bobbie, director of the hit revival
of Chicago, has joined the creative team as director and co-adaptor. Tony Award
winner John Lee Beatty will design the scenery for the production.
The new musical will deliver what audiences expect, and much more. The score
will feature the hits songs from the film as well as new songs written for the stage.
The dancing will be every bit as electric as it was in the film, but even more
pervasive on stage, an integral part of the basic story-telling formula. The story, a
sturdy tale of teenage rebellion and the struggle to overcome well-intentioned but
misguided oppression will be given new life, as it is juxtaposed with the theme of
coming to terms with loss - a boy's loss of his father and a man's loss of his son.
The scenery will capture the powerful imagery of small-town Americana. In
summary, the production will take the film's amazing core of material and transform
it, creating a theatrical presentation which is familiar and, at the same time, brand
new.
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DEAN PITCHFORD
Writer and Lyricist
Dean Pitchford won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Grammy nominations for his lyrics (to Michael Gore's music) for the title song of the motion picture Fame.
In 1984, he broke new ground by writing the original screenplay for the motion picture Footloose
as well as collaborating on the nine-song score with such popular composers as Kenny Loggins,
Michael Gore, Tom Snow, Sammy Hagar, Jim Steinman, Bill Wolfer and Eric Carmen. The
soundtrack album has sold over 16 million copies worldwide; it spent ten weeks at #1 on the
Billboard Albums Chart, and it gave radio six top-forty singles - 'Footloose,' 'Let's Hear It For the
Boy,' 'Almost Paradise,' 'Dancing In the Sheets,' 'I'm Free,' and 'Holding Out for a Hero'. It
holds the record as the largest selling soundtrack in the history of CBS (Sony) Records.
Those songs went on to garner Pitchford a Golden Globe nomination (Best Song - 'Footloose');
two Grammy nominations (Best R&B Song - 'Dancing in the Sheets' & Best Soundtrack Album -
'Footloose'); and two Academy Award nominations (Best Song - 'Footloose' and 'Let's Hear It
For the Boy'). The combined airplay of all those songs resulted in Pitchford's being named
Songwriter of the Year for 1984 by BMI.
In 1986, with Tom Snow, Dean wrote Dolly Parton's country hit 'Don't Call It Love,' which won
BMI's prestigious Robert J. Burton Award as the most Played Country Song of the Year. In 1987-
88, he had #1 songs with Eric Carmen's 'Make Me Lose Control' (co-written with Carmen); and
Cher Peter Cetera's 'After All (Love Theme from Chances Are)' (co- written with Tom Snow).
The latter garnered a 1989 Academy Award nomination (Pitchford's fourth) and a Golden Globe
nomination for Best Song (Pitchford's third). lri 1991, Whitney Houston's recording of 'All the Man
That I Need' (a Gore/Pitchford collaboration) reached #1 on all three Billboard charts - pop, R&B
and adult - and the single was certified gold by the RIAA.
His songs have been featured in motion pictures such as Three Men and a Little Lady (Disney
Pictures); The Butcher's Wife (Paramount Pictures); Sarafina (Hollywood Pictures); If Looks
Could Kill (Warner Bros.); on soaps like One Life To Live and The Bold and the Beautiful; in
animated works like Oliver and Company (Disney) and television's Disney Afternoon.
In January of 1992, The Washing Machine Man, a short film written and directed by Pitchford,
made its world premiere at the U.S. Film Festival (Sundance Festival) in Park City, Utah, marking
his directorial debut. The film was made under the aegis of the Discovery Program, which fosters
first-time directors. In May of 1992, the film won the Gold Grand Jury Prize at the Houston Film
Festival. It was broadcast on Showtime. That led to Pitchford being hired to direct Bloodbrothers:
The Joey DiPaolo Story for HBO's Life Lessons series. That film won the 1993 Cable Ace Award
for Best Children's Program.
A native of Hawaii, Pitchford began his career as an actor before turning to writing and directing.
He left Honolulu when he was awarded a scholarship to Yale. The summer prior to his senior year
in college, he auditioned for the New York cast of the rock musical Godspell, signed on as
understudy and took over the leading role a few months later.