University Players will premiere their summer musical “Footloose” starting at 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 500 S. Mitchell Street.
Tickets are sold out, but senior University Players director of choreography and movement Katelyn Connor said 10 tickets are reserved for freshmen on a first come, first serve basis. Freshmen must present an IU student ID. Masks are required for all audience members.
“We really want to be able to welcome the freshmen and say ‘This is your community. This is what your peers are all about,’” Connor said. “We want you involved and we want you to have a good time.”
“Footloose” is about Ren McCormack who moved from Chicago to the small town of Bomont, Utah Connor said. Ren struggles with locals in the town who enforce a law forbidding dance, but he also connects with other kids his age.
As this is University Players’ first summer musical, Connor said she hopes people come out to witness and support student theater.
“Within the last year, of course, people have been starved of live theater,” Connor said. “Being able to come out and be able to see a live show, especially when ‘Footloose’ is so high energy, it's so fun and a great way to start the year off.”
The production rehearsed for three hours a day five days a week starting in July. They rehearsed in a cast member’s backyard where they built their performance space, Connor said. With building their own performance space, she said they were able to make the show a more immersive theater experience through utilizing lights, stairs and other elements of the house.
