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(WASHINGTON)—The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces additional casting for the Broadway Center Stage production of Footloose, the explosive Broadway musical set to the rockin’ rhythm of the film’s Oscar® and Grammy®–nominated Top 40 score and augmented with dynamic new Tony®–nominated songs for the stage musical. Four-time Tony Award® nominee Judy Kuhn (Fun Home, Les Misérables) will star as Ethel McCormack, joining
the previously announced J. Quinton Johnson (Choir Boy, Hamilton, Broadway Center Stage: In the Heights) as Ren McCormack, Isabelle McCalla (The Prom, Aladdin) as Ariel Moore, Michael Park (Dear Evan Hansen) as Reverend Shaw Moore, and three-time Tony Award® nominee Rebecca Luker as Vi Moore (Mary Poppins, the Kennedy Center’s Little Dancer).
Also new to the cast are Joshua Logan Alexander as Chuck, Peter McPoland as Willard Hewitt, Tony Award® nominee Michael Mulheren (Kiss Me, Kate; Bright Star) as Coach Dunbar, Lena Owens as Wendy Jo, Nicole Vanessa Ortiz (Spamilton) as Rusty, Grace Slear as Urleen, and Rema Webb (The Color Purple, Violet) as Lulu Warnicker/Eleanor Dunbar/Betty Blast, with Brandon Burks, Claire Crause, Michele Lee, Jess LeProtto, Gregory Liles, Nick Martinez, Maximilian Sangerman, Jonathan Savage, Bethany Tesarck, Tiernan Tunnicliffe, and Jamar Williams.
The musical’s original Broadway director, Tony Award® winner Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Bright Star), returns to helm this Broadway Center Stage production, featuring a revised book penned by Bobbie and Academy Award® winner Dean Pitchford, based on Pitchford’s screenplay for the hit film. Bobbie is joined by choreographer Spencer Liff (So You Think You Can Dance, Broadway Center Stage: Little Shop of Horrors) and music director Sonny Paladino (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812).
“I am thrilled that Footloose continues to be performed all over the world!,” said director and co- author Walter Bobbie. “Encouraged by the musical’s popularity, Dean and I tweaked the script, cut a song, and added a new opening for Act 2. Exciting changes that tell a better story for our audiences. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to direct this new version of our show at The Kennedy Center, where we originally had the world premiere of Footloose pre-Broadway.”
Footloose features a score by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford with additional music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, and Jim Steinman. The film’s soundtrack, which reached Number One on the Billboard charts, has sold more than 15 million copies and is packed with hits such as “Footloose,” “Let’s Hear it For the Boy,” “Almost Paradise,” and “Holding Out For a Hero.”
Completing the creative team are set and projection designer Paul Tate dePoo III (Broadway Center Stage: The Music Man, The Who’s Tommy), Tony Award®–nominated costume designer David Woolard (The Rocky Horror Show, The Who’s Tommy), lighting designer Cory Pattak (Broadway Center Stage: In the Heights, Little Shop of Horrors, The Music Man), and sound designer Jon Weston (An American in Paris, She Loves Me).
Presented as a part of Broadway Center Stage—a Kennedy Center–produced series of musicals in semi-staged concerts, conceived and executive produced by —Footloose will run October 9–14, 2019 in the Eisenhower Theater.
The Broadway Center Stage series, now in its third season, has become a hit with both critics and audiences alike with sold-out, star-studded performances of The Who’s Tommy, The Music Man, Little Shop of Horrors, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, In the Heights, and Chess. Following Footloose, the 2019–20 season will continue with Tony Award® winner Rachel Bay Jones in the Pulitzer Prize–winning musical, Next to Normal, and the Tony Award®–winning Best Musical, Bye Bye Birdie.
Ticket Information Footloose will play the Eisenhower Theater October 9–12 at 8 p.m. and October 13–14 at 7 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on October 12 and 13. Tickets for all performances are on sale through at the Kennedy Center box office, the website, or by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324.
Funding Credits
Theater at the Kennedy Center is made possible by Adrienne Arsht.
Major support for Musical Theater at the Kennedy Center is provided by the Drutz Family Fund for Musical Theater.
The Kennedy Center Theater Season is sponsored by Altria Group.
Additional support is provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
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PRESS CONTACT TICKETS & INFORMATION Brendan Padgett (202) 416-4600 (202) 416-8004 (800) 444-1324 [email protected] www.kennedy-center.org