Did you miss it the first time around? After premiering in Melbourne back in May 2025, Footloose the Musical is set to return to the Athenaeum Theatre for a limited encore season of (currently) 29 performances, starting on 25 July 2025 and running through until Sunday 17 August 2025 – with a good mix of matinee and evening performances. Additionally, a national tour itinerary is expected to be revealed very soon!
Based on the 1984 film featuring Kevin Bacon, Footloose the Musical follows Chicago transplant Ren McCormick, whose passion for music and dance collides with the conservative values of small-town Bomont. The new production features an all-Australian cast led by Jarrod Moore as Ren and Jordan Twigg as Ariel Moore, the conflicted preacher’s daughter. Stephen Mahy (Jersey Boys, Grease) tackles Reverend Shaw Moore, while Sophie Weiss (Frozen, The Sound of Music) plays his empathetic wife Vi.
Supporting roles include Maverick Newman as steadfast best mate Willard Hewitt and Justin Gray as Ariel’s volatile boyfriend Chuck Cranston. Maddison Coleman, Andrea Zappacosta and Angela Brischetto supply comic spark as Ariel’s trio of sharp-tongued friends, while Emma Russell, Shannon Foley, Elena Atanasovski, Niina Dell, Jack Reason, Chad Rosete, Gabriel Tiller, Dimitri Raptis, and swings DaisyBoo Allen and Jake Keen round out the ensemble.
The score of Footloose the Musical features a stack of 1980s pop anthems, including but not limited toHolding Out for a Hero, Let’s Hear It for the Boy, Almost Paradise, I’m Free and, of course, the titular song Footloose.
Lyrics come from Oscar and Golden Globe winner Dean Pitchford, with additional contributions from Kenny Loggins. Pitchford also co-wrote the book with Tony nominee Walter Bobbie. Composer Tom Snow, whose résumé includes songs for Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton and Olivia Newton-John, leads the musical team alongside other collaborators.
All this sound interesting and you will be in Melbourne across the dates of the encore season? Tickets are now available from the official Footloose the Musical Australia website.
