The Mira Costa Drama department presented Footloose! from April 26 through May 4. They chose this production for their Spring musical and spent a long time working and perfecting it. They started working on this play in January. The cast was made up of thirty-six actors in all grade levels and the backstage crew was made up of over thirty people. 

The movie version of Footloose was released in 1984 and was a huge success. This movie follows a boy named Ren McCormack who moves to a small town called Bomont from Chigaco. He discovers that Bomont doesn’t allow dancing because of a tragic incident. He then convinces the strict town preacher to relax the law and to allow the teens of the town to hold a dance. The story is about perseverance and not giving up the first time someone says no. 

Nearly sixty people auditioned for the high school musical while only forty-three people were selected. There were thirty-six cast members and seven front-of-house members who worked in the lobby and appeared on stage for a couple scenes. The cast was led by Devan Malik in the role of Ren and Siena Fredrick as Ariel. The musical was produced and directed by Jonathan Westerberg, the high school drama teacher, and co-produced by Kathie Papera. Choreography was designed by Christopher Albrecht. The musical director was Megan Cornelius. To recreate the famous songs, an orchestra consisting of eight current high school students and one former student were led by music director Mark McCormick.

Pre-production for the play started last summer and included scheduling, fundraising, designing, and planning for the production. The cast faced many challenges while preparing for the play. The rehearsals tended to run smoothly, but there were always unpredictable situations that would arise, especially in tech. Even though there were hardships, it eventually paid off.

Asked to share his favorite part of the production, director Jonathan Westerberg share that it was “working with an incredibly talented and hard working group of students and adults. Everyone was professional, kind, and dedicated to making this a great production and a great experience.”

The Manhattan Beach community showed up to support the Mira Costa drama department and their production of Footloose. Many people went multiple times. In fact, Mira Costa broke their own attendance records and hosted over a thousand people in the audience each night. The actors received a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of every performance.