Teens prepare for Footloose

Footloose is set to open at the Bordentown Performing Arts Center on Friday, July 31 and Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m. This musical is a production of the Bordentown Teen Musical Theatre Company, whose cast contains 34 young performers ages 15-19 from Bordentown, Fieldsboro, Chesterfield, Columbus, Hamilton, Wrightstown, Yardville, and Eastampton.The musical tells the story of Ren and his mother, who move from Chicago to a small farming town. Ren is prepared for the inevitable adjustment period at his new high school, but what he isn’t prepared for are the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing instituted by the local preacher, determined to exercise the control over the town’s youth that he cannot command in his own home. When the reverend’s rebellious daughter sets her sights on Ren, her roughneck boyfriend tries to sabotage Ren’s reputation, with many of the locals eager to believe the worst about the new kid. The story that emerges is of a father longing for the son he lost and of a young man aching for the father who walked out on him.Footloose features music by Tom Snow, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, stage adaptation by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie and is presented through the kind permission of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. 2015 marks the eighth year of the successful Bordentown Junior Theatre Company summer program, which has given hundreds of young actors the opportunity to perform musicals such as Beauty and the Beast Jr. and The Little Mermaid Jr. This is Bordentown Theatre’s third production featuring area teen performers, and follows previous summers’ acclaimed teen productions of Rent and Grease.Performances of Footloose are scheduled for Friday, July 31 and Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bordentown Performing Arts Center, located at 318 Ward Avenue in Bordentown. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for seniors and children, and can be purchased at the Bordentown CDA office (located at 48 Dunns Mill Road in Bordentown) as well as at the door one hour before curtain.For more information, email bordentowntheatre@yahoo.com or call (609) 298-0025, Ext. 1200.