Theater is, of course, a product of its times — which means that a show you’ve seen before can suddenly seem to offer different messages when viewed through the lens of a different production in a different era.

Such is the case with the musical “Footloose,” which is onstage at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in a production by Little Radical Theatrics. The last time I saw this show, based on the hit 1984 Kevin Bacon film, was in 2018 and I remembered it as being fun in a silly nostalgic kind of way — but I certainly couldn’t imagine anything “radical” about it.

Then I sat in the Pugh Theater and heard the reference to poet Walt Whitman, who wrote “I hear America singing.” The Rev. Moore makes the mention in his sermon and follows up with “If Walt Whitman were alive today, what would he hear America singing?” I snapped to attention.

What if “Footloose” is really a call to question authority when it’s wrong? To stand up for what’s right, to stand up for freedom, when our leaders — even if they are well-intentioned — lose sight of the right path. And suddenly “Footloose” felt radical, or at the very least subversive.

The Rev. Moore is also mayor of the little town of Bomont, Texas. He and the town council have banned all dancing in the city limits after four young men were killed in a car crash after leaving a dance five years earlier. Enter Ren, a high schooler from Chicago, who has trouble fitting in and can’t see what this dance ban is accomplishing; in fact, to him, it seems downright un-biblical and un-American.

Just to raise the stakes, and provide the obligatory love story, he also catches the eye of Ariel, the minister’s free-spirited daughter.

Actually, I’m glad for the love story because that spurs one of the best musical numbers, “Almost Paradise,” in which lead actors Chase Malachi Williams and Ayanna Lúa Rodriguez Santiago create a beautiful blend with their soaring harmonies.

“Almost Paradise,” performed by Chase Malachi Williams and Ayanna Lúa Rodriguez Santiago, is a musical highlight of the Little Radical Theatrics production of “Footloose” at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando. (Courtesy Mike Kitaif via Little Radical Theatrics)

“Footloose” is full of hit pop songs: “Holding Out for a Hero” is given girl-power punch by Santiago with Emma Licata, Madison Windham and Emily Derderian, who also unleashes her belt on “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” which also quite nicely shows off Arius West’s choreography — designed to fit the large ensemble on the Pugh stage.

If the occasional ragged scene transition and bits of overacting — not to mention the ratio of three women for every man onstage — remind the audience that this is community theater, director Travis Eaton creates multiple engaging moments in front of the large video screen that serves the story well in his production design.

One of the most touching scenes: The Rev. Moore (grounded in humanity by David A. Clark) finding his way back to his wife (a warmhearted Stephanie Viegas). There is a warmth that suffuses the whole production — another factor often found in community theater. Everyone seems so joyous to be there.

Tyler Moylan (foreground left, with Chase Malachi Williams) gives a funny turn as a mama-loving hick in the Little Radical Theatrics production of “Footloose” at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando. (Courtesy Mike Kitaif via Little Radical Theatrics)

Tyler Moylan rightly scores big laughs as hapless sidekick Willard, and he and his backing ensemble make the most of his comic number, “Mama Says.”

Back to those leads: Williams is an appealing soft-spoken hero, which makes you take notice when he gets loud. Santiago nicely finds the layers in Ariel: Sadness and anger are fueling her behavior.

But in the production’s slower moments, I found my thoughts returning to the idea that each of us has a part to play in making sure justice and kindness prevail.

The Rev. Moore and his wife (David A. Clark and Stephanie Viegas) share a nice moment in the Little Radical Theatrics production of “Footloose” at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando. (Courtesy Mike Kitaif via Little Radical Theatrics)

As the Rev. Moore reminds us: “Aren’t we the song that we sing? Don’t we lift our voices to tell the world who we are? And what we believe? So I ask you … what song are you singing?”

Who knew a show about dancing could have so much to say?

Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment or sign up to receive our weekly emailed Entertainment newsletter.

‘Footloose’

Length: 2:25, including intermission
Where: Pugh Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando
When: Through Nov. 22
Cost: $53.40-$59.30
Info: drphillipscenter.org

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/21/footloose-review-orlando-dr-phillips-center/