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North Shore production isn't 'Footloose' or fancy-free

There’s nothing that’s offensively bad about North Shore Music Theatre’s “Footloose,” there’s just very little that’s actually good. But we should be distracted from the mediocrity of Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie’s stage adaptation by some killer dance moves — and Vince Pesce’s choreography doesn’t deliver.

John Jeffrey Martin plays Ren McCormack like he’s Woody Woodpecker on speed. Though he does have a kind of manic charisma, he too often sounds like he’s acting in a Saturday morning cartoon. And he doesn’t bust a move nearly as often as he should.

Ren and his mom (Marci Reid) move from Chicago to a podunk town that has outlawed dancing and all forms of rock ’n’ roll-type teenage enjoyment. The Rev. Shaw Moore (George Dvorsky, sporting an absurd Elvis-mullet of white hair) basically has the town in the palm of his hand, with the exception of his rebellious daughter Ariel (Chelsea Morgan Stock). Ren helps the town break out of the reverend’s clutches in self-consciously heartwarming fashion, and every-body parties (spoiler alert).

The thing is, the kind of dancing that Ren and company do can’t be called licentious, let alone interesting. Even when they kick off their Sunday shoes, they dance like they’re at a church social. Ren repeatedly says they’re fighting for freedom, but these kids look just as constrained as the preacher’s wife.

Like so many directors before him, Mark Martino can’t figure out how to put North Shore’s theater in the round to good use — and “Footloose” feels hamstrung by weak staging choices. When Ren and Ariel sing “Almost Paradise” to each other as their big love duet, they stand three feet apart and look away from each other even as they sing the lyrics, “I swear that I can see forever in your eyes.” Hmm.

“Footloose” has its moments, like in a giddy little dance lesson in “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” and “Mama Says,” a funny patter song from Ren’s best buddy Willard (Matthew Dorsey). The friendship between Ren and Willard actually feels like the most genuine emotional strain in a very artificial show.

If I Were a Boy Ringtone by Beyonce Knowles | Free Straight Talk ...

The song “If I Were a Boy” is pop and R&B song recorded by Beyonce Knowles, an American R&B recording artist, actress and fashion designer. “If I Were a Boy” was written by BC Jean as well as Toby Gad and produced by Gad and Knowles. Jean wrote most of the song’s lyrics by taking inspiration from a bad break-up.Jean initially recorded her version of the song which was rejected by Jean’s record company. Knowles then recorded a new version for her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008). The song was released as the album’s lead single to U.S. radio on October 12, 2008 alongside “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. “If I Were a Boy” is different from Knowles previous songs as the song is not a traditional R&B one. The lyrics of the song are a reference to an expression of sadness about misunderstanding between the genders and an indictment of the male side of relationships. The song stands as the only song on either disc of I Am… Sasha Fierce that Knowles did not co-write. Upon its release, “If I Were a Boy” was generally well-received by music critics who praised Knowles’ tormented performance, emotional and passionate vocals and called the song her best work to date.

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