In Friday's 7 section I chat with Scott Hancock, director of the new Good Company Players production of "Footloose" at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater. Here's a continuation of the interview.

Question: Is this the first time that Good Company has done the show?

Answer: Yes. "Footloose" was originally slated for the 2008 season, but the rights to "Chicago" and "The Producers" both became briefly available. Due to the limited availability of both of those shows, "Footloose" was bumped to open the 2009 season. I was scheduled to direct "Footloose" originally in the previous season, and I was very excited that it was re-assigned to me for this season.

Tell us about the Broadway show.

It opened in 1998 and ran for 709 performances. The incomporable Dee Hoty was in the original cast, as well as Orfah (who went on to play the Tony nominated role of Paulette in Legally Blonde.) Incidentally, Derek Hough from "Dancing With the Stars" played Ren on the West End.

How did you prepare the cast for such a dance-heavy show?

Our accomplished choreographer, Kaye Migaki, has done the show before, so she knew exactly what she was looking for at auditions. The cast had several Saturday "pick-up" dance rehearsals to fine tune and get the dances into tip-top shape. The joke amongst the cast has been that no one needs to hit the gym during the run; the show provides a better work out than any aerobic instructor could.

What are the best-known songs in the show?

"Let's Hear it For the Boy", "Footloose", "Holding Out For a Hero", and the beautiful "Almost Paradise."

What's your biggest challenge as director?

Pacing, pacing, pacing. Amongst high-energy song and dance numbers is a great story of forgiveness, acceptance of other ideas, and a lot of self reflection. Keeping the show moving and not becoming a Shakespearean matinee (not the there's anything wrong with those), has been the biggest challenge. The highly cast has been great about "squeezing the air" out of the show. In addition, we have a lot of cast members who were only a twinkle in their daddy's eye in the 1980s, so feeling VERY old after rehearsal is something I have wrestled with.

Tell us about the show's production design.

As always, David Pierce (scenic designer) and Ginger Kay Lewis-Reed (Costume designer) have risen to the challenge with flair. The show has a lot of different locations and there were some challenges in that arena that the scene shop was very helpful and inventive in solving. The costumes are so honest to the 1980s that they have taken me on several memory lane trips back to high school. Some of our cast members have actually brought in their high school yearbooks to help the younger members of the cast capture the physical look of the 1980s.

I know there are some new faces to GCP in the cast.

We actually have several new faces in lead roles on this show. As a director you feel you are always taking a gamble by doing that, but in this case the show has hit it big on this one. Daniel Rodriguez and Caitlin Stevenson (both veterans of Children's Musical Theaterworks) are playing Ren and Ariel, and they never cease to amaze me. Their incredible acting and singing chops are amazing to me, and their onstage chemistry is palpable.

How close is the play to the movie?

The story is the same, but it delves a lot more into what drives these people to act the way they do. Several songs have also been added, and each one moves the story along.


Anything else you'd like people to know about the show?
It's just pure, unadulterated fun, with a great story stitching the piece together. The high skill level of the cast will provide our audiences with a trip down memory lane as well as the chance to see a lovely story. Short answer: Come See It!