Dazzling Footloose and Boundary-Pushing Psycho Beach Party Musicals

By Shari Barrett

Santa Monica’s Morgan-Wixson Theatre is presenting a fabulous production of Footloose the Musical, adapted by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, based on the original screenplay by Dean Pitchford, with music by Tom Snow, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and additional music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, and Jim Steinman, directed and choreographed by the always insightful Niko Montelibano and produced by Philip McBride. The stage musical opened on Broadway in 1998, ran for 709 performances, and received four Tony Award nominations including Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Musical Score. And its popularity continues worldwide with a glorious score and many featured roles for talented triple-threat performers. In fact, there were over 700 auditioners for this production!

The story centers on Ren McCormack (super talented Carter Santos in his first, and certainly not his last, starring role since recently moving to Los Angeles), a teenage boy who moves with his mother Ethel (Lauren Magness) from Chicago to Bomont, a small town seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Thinking it will be easy to adapt to the new small-town high school crowd, Ren soon discovers what he isn’t prepared for are the local laws, especially the ban on dancing created by the local preacher Reverend Shaw Moore (Steven Didrick) who is bent on exercising control over the town’s youth, especially his rebellious daughter Ariel, brought fully to life by Nico Fisher who dazzled the audience in her attention-grabbing red boots described by her boyfriend Chuck (Luc Clopton) and his sidekicks Lyle and Travis (Adam Derbigny and Joaquin Hosfeld) as they harmonized together, letting us know “The Girl Gets Around.” But as soon as she sets her sights on Ren, Chuck tries to sabotage Ren’s reputation by turning the locals against the outspoken newcomer.  

But with the help of Ariel’s bible knowledge and Willard (Trae Adair who makes the role spectacularly his own during “Mama Says”), Ren convinces the Reverend to accept that the town’s youth need to blow off steam by dancing to celebrate life. And thanks to his loving wife Vi (Sarah Marie), the Reverend agrees, which helps the town heal from a tragic accident five years earlier. Other standouts in the cast are curvaceous Deven Kontur as Ariel’s friend Rusty who stole the show with her amazing belting rendition of “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” as Ren teaches Willard to dance, and Ariel and Rusty’s friends Urleen and Wendy Jo (Chase Klein and Amanda Rodas) who all shine together in the rousing “Holding Out For A Hero.”  

Under vocal direction by Abby Carlson, wonderful harmonies fill the stage by not only the leads but the featured players including Terrance Robinson as Garvin, Luke Arthur Smith as Bickle, Eadric Einbinder as Jeter, and Steve Weber as Cowboy Bob, along with the outstanding and highly energetic 12-member ensemble. The multi-level scenic design by Justin Kelley-Cahill morphs from place to place, highlighted by Cici Mo’s lighting design. And kudos to director/choreographer Niko Montelibano for stepping up to design the costumes during final rehearsals. What a Herculean task Montelibano took on, and he succeeds brilliantly!

Footloose the Musical at The Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica runs through July 28 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $32, seniors $28 and students $25 available at https://www.morgan-wixson.org/ or (310) 828-7519. And don’t wait since this spectacular production is bound to sell out!

Psycho Beach Party, a totally campy creation written by Charles Busch, directed by Tom DeTrinis and Ryan Bergmann, is being presented by HorseChart Theatre Company at the Matrix Theatre on Melrose through July 7. But this is not your typical 50s and 60s beach blanket movie with Frankie and Annette innocently dancing and singing in the sand – oh no! With several cross-dressing cast members, mischief, madness, and the passionate pursuit of the perfect wave or man, it combines a Hitchcockian psychological suspense thriller with the sexual heat of Jayne Mansfield at the height of her stardom. Think Gidget meets Mommie Dearest singing “The Girl Can’t Help It” to figure out the plot!

This rollicking and zany comedy centers around teenage tomboy Chicklet Forrest (Drew Droege doing his best to channel the ultimate crossdressing comedy legend Charles Busch), who desperately wants to be a part of the surfer crowd on Malibu Beach. Rejected by boys for her lack of curves, Chicklet decides her way to make her mark and catch a hot surfer dude is to not only learn to catch a wave but also how to catch the eye of lead surfer Kanaka (crossdresser Karen Maruyama) who always carries a large mug of Java to keep him ready to catch a wave.

But what Kanaka and the beach set don’t realize is that Chicklet (nee Florence) is hiding a big secret – an unfortunate tendency towards multiple personalities, including a dim check-out girl, an elderly radio talk show hostess, a male model named Steve, and the accounting firm of Edelman and Edelman. Droege is a hoot transforming into each of these distinct personalities using his physicality and side glances to pull the audience into each one with hilarious results.

Chicklet’s most dangerous alter ego, the sexually voracious vixen Ann Bowman, who has nothing less than world domination on her mind as a knife-wielding terror willing to kill any man who crosses her path. And why did all these multiple personalities come out? It’s all thanks to her mother Mrs. Forrest (Sam Pancake who does an excellent job resembling a wire coat-hanger-carrying Joan Crawford), who emotionally and psychologically abused her daughter from the moment she was born. Hilarity reigns during the scene in which these two talented actors show us from where the character Ann Bowman was born.

Other beach bums and surfers include handsome and well-built Adrián González as the speedo-clad Yo-Yo, Daniel Montgomery as his sexual-orientation-exploring roommate Provoloney, Thomas Hobson as Starcat, and Pete Zias as Marvel Ann who steals the attention of Kanaka before poor Chicklet can get her hands on him. And of course, all the men are drooled over by Chicklet’s only female friend Berdine (Danielle Gaither) who shares, “I love a man with a big … idea” as she updates her diary with an oversized pencil during scene changes.

But everything falls apart when Bettina, a glamorous movie star looking to hide away from her agent prior to heading to New York, portrayed to the hilt by Chase Rosenberg (who shares the role with Roz Hernandez) in eye-catching shades of yellow, stacked to the max beyond what even Jayne Mansfield loved to flash. Will she be the one to fall victim to the knife-wielding Ann Bowman? I’m not telling! So be ready to be swept away because Surf’s Up and murder is afoot in this madcap comedy!

While this play is a bit too campy for my taste, it does contain great surf music, talented actors, and brilliant direction by Tom DeTrinis and Ryan Bergmann that keeps the action moving along on a stylized beachy scenic design by Yuri Okahana-Benson and Nicole Bernardini, with lots of cultural references from my childhood growing up on the beaches of Santa Monica and Venice. Other tech credits include RS Buck (Lighting Design), Andrea “Slim” Allmond (Composer and Sound Design), Alexis Carrie (Costume Design), and Jenni Gilbert (Wigs). 

Psycho Beach Party is produced for HorseChart Theatre Company by Brett Aune and Steven Luff with Associate Producers: Brian Nesbitt and Sami Klein. Shows take place through July 7 at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles 90046 at 7 p.m. Thursdays – Sundays, with added performance on Monday, July 1; no performance on Thursday, July 4). General admission $30, $35 seniors. PWYC July 1 ($10+) Reservations https://horsechart.ludus.com or (323) 496-3390.