A cast of 30 Duke students just wanted to dance.
But in an unfortunate instance of life imitating art, student musical theater troupe Hoof 'n' Horn was forced to abandon its production of Footloose after rehearsing daily since January. This time, the shimmying and shaking wasn't perceived to be sinful-it was illegal.
After hundreds of hours of rehearsal, Hoof 'n' Horn members were notified two weeks ago by Rodgers and Hammerstein, the organization that administers legal rights for Footloose, that they had been denied permission to stage the hit Broadway musical because a Footloose national tour will pass through Yanceyville, N.C., at the same time, said President Jared Blau, a junior. Rodgers and Hammerstein stipulates that no two shows may be performed within 75 miles of each other at once.
After appeals from the North Carolina Council of the Arts and Duke theater faculty fell on deaf ears, Hoof 'n' Horn decided Tuesday to ditch Footloose in favor of Little Shop of Horrors, a smaller-scale show that can be prepared in a pinch, Blau said.
"This got all the way up to the president of the licensing corporation," he said. "It was kind of sad because there were all these people that were very sympathetic to our problem but weren't willing to budge on the issue. We kept having these miniature victories where everyone said, 'Yes, you can have the show.' But it never boiled down to legal contracts."
Many cast members are devastated that they will never have the opportunity to perform the show they had devoted countless hours to choreographing and rehearsing, Blau said. Senior Kevin Brightly, who had been cast as "the crazy uncle," said he was hit hard by the news.
"It's hard to believe that a heterosexual male would be more upset about this than when the Giants lost to the Eagles in the playoffs-but I am," he said. "I went to the Dillo, got a beer, and then I went home and started drinking whiskey."
This is the first time that Hoof 'n' Horn has had to abandon a production in progress in recent memory, said junior Danny Lewin, co-producer of Footloose and a Chronicle columnist. But the scheduling snafu was not the students' fault, Blau said.
Although Hoof 'n' Horn's executive board first contacted Rodgers and Hammerstein for permission to stage Footloose in November, the corporation did not consider the request until January because the troupe had an outstanding fee with the corporation. When Rodgers and Hammerstein finally began reviewing the application, an agent notified Blau of the scheduling violation but assured him that Hoof 'n' Horn would be able to stage the show anyway, Blau said.
"At the last minute, they reneged on their promise," he said.
The troupe dodged any financial hit, because all expenses were put on hold until final permission had been granted, Blau said.
He added that Hoof 'n' Horn was forced to cut loose Footloose when it did to allow time to prepare a new show.
Representatives from Rodgers and Hammerstein could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
Hoof 'n' Horn has revised its procedures to ensure that a cast will never be disappointed in this way again, Blau said. In the future, Hoof 'n' Horn members will only vote on shows they have already received permission to perform.
The cast of Footloose was invited to audition for Little Shop of Horrors, and Footloose's producers, musical director, stage manager and technical crew have signed on for the new production, Lewin said. But Blau said he is worried that some talented dancers who were drawn to Hoof 'n' Horn for Footloose will not return to the troupe.
"[Footloose] drew in a lot of new people-there were people at the read-through that I had never seen before," he said. "They're absolutely still part of the Hoof 'n' Horn family.... We have a big party planned for this weekend and they've been invited. It's important for us to make them still feel like a part of Hoof 'n' Horn."
But Brightly noted that as a second-semester senior, Footloose was his last chance to steal the spotlight.
"If I had two more years of college, I would have tried for a different show. But a general lack of talent would keep me from pursuing theater professionally," he said. "My talent will have to stay on the shelf forever."
Junior Maggie Skoglund, who was stage manager of Footloose and has signed on for Little Shop of Horrors, said she cannot wait for Hoof 'n' Horn's upcoming production. And although she devoted countless hours to a show that will never debut, attending every Footloose rehearsal, she would not trade that time for anything.
"Even though we didn't get to perform, we still made those friendships, and we still grew as performers," she said. "The time was not wasted."
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