14th annual Young Performers Production, 2014 Presented by PANSA (The Performing Arts Network of SA); the Department of Arts and Culture of the Province of KZN, and Rainbow: RCL Foods Footloose UKZN Sneddon Theatre: 28 June to 13 July 2014. Directed by Themi Venturas, the 14th annual PANSA Young Performers Production for this year is Footloose which comes to the UKZN Sneddon Theatre from 28 June to 13 July 2014. Footloose tells the story of a tenacious and rebellious city teenager, Ren, who moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned by the conservative Rev Shaw and the town council. He leads the young people of the town in a protest against the town’s banning of the annual dance. The stage adaptation of Footloose is by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie based on the original screenplay by Dean Pitchford with music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pitchford and additional music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Logins and Jim Steinman. Footloose has had two incarnations as feature film: in 1984 a youthful Kevin Bacon was Ren playing against John Lithgow’s Rev Shaw. Also in the cast were Lori Singer, Sarah Jessica Parker and Diane Wiest. The film was remade in 2011 and featured Kenny Wormald as Ren and Dennis Quaid as the Reverend. Also in the remake were Julianne Hough and Andie MacDowell. Footloose, the Musical was adapted for the stage from the film, and premiered in 1998 and became a Broadway and West End hit. It has been staged successfully globally since then. Footloose boasts some now-iconic musical numbers: the theme song, Footloose, which became a hit for Kenny Loggins; Holding out for a Hero, which was recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for the first film; and Let’s Hear it for the Boy which became a number one song for singer Denise Williams. Other songs from the musical include On Any Sunday; The Girl Gets Around, Somebody’s Eyes, Heaven Help me and Learning to be Silent. The 2014 Young Performers Project sees Themi Venturas at the helm once more in a production which re-unites him with Daisy Spencer (Choreographer) and Des Govender (Vocal Coach) whom together worked on former YPP productions, Hairspray and Legally Blonde. Joining them for the first time as Musical Director is Luke Holder who successfully collaborated with Venturas in the acclaimed production of Man of La Mancha at the Catalina Theatre and the National Arts Festival. Spearheaded by PANSA (the Performing Arts Network of South Africa: KZN, the project ensures that the learners get a taste of working in the professional musical theatre arena. The cast of 40 were chosen at auditions on 26 April. Rehearsals have begun with the cast meeting every weekend until the opening night. The project promotes discipline, develops confidence, and gives an opportunity to make life-long friendships, and to learn a huge amount from the professionals. PANSA is grateful to the Department of Arts and Culture of the Province of KZN who have agreed to support the project for the next three years. Gracious thanks too to sponsors RCL Foods (Rainbow Chicken); Business and Arts South Africa (BASA); Black Coffee for wonderful technical support and the UKZN Sneddon Theatre. Previous YPP projects have been: Curtain Up; One Voice; Grease; Oliver; Fiddler on the Roof; The Wiz; Annie; School of Rock, SA; Big River; Hairspray; Seussical; Legally Blonde and last year’s, Can You Feel It? The show will run at the UKZN Sneddon Theatre from 28 June until 13 July. Over the years the show has grown to be very popular with Durban audiences so booking is essential. Booking is through Computicket outlets at Shoprite Checkers, by phone on 0861 915 8000 or online at computicket. For further enquiries please call PANSA KwaZulu Natal Regional Coordinator: Nelisa Mzimela. PANSA office Telephone: 031 2014750 or email: [email protected] Ends
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 07:03:26 +0000
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