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Footloose is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow (among others), the lyrics by Dean Pitchford (with additional lyrics by Kenny Loggins), and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. Plot Act 1 Ren McCormack, an ordinary city teenager living in Chicago, IL, dances off the stresses from his long and arduous eight-hour work day at a dance club with friends. But this is his last visit; he tells them, due to financial pressures brought on by his father's abandonment, he and his mother Ethel have to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere: Bomont (much to the chagrin of his friends, who gripe, "Bomont?! Where the hell is Bomont?!"), where his aunt and uncle have offered them a place to stay. After arriving in town, Ren and Ethel attend church and get their first glimpse of the Reverend, Shaw Moore. A deeply religious, conservative man and a prominent authority figure in the town, Moore gives a long sermon lambasting the evils of "rock and roll" music and its "endless chant of pornography" ("Footloose/On Any Sunday"). After church. Ren immediately finds himself at odds with the repressive, stifling atmosphere in Bomont and meets Ariel, the Reverend's daughter and only person seemingly unfazed by her father's iron-fisted control. Ariel quickly dismisses Ren and runs off to a gas station where she meets her boyfriend Chuck Cranston, the local bad boy, and his buddies Travis and Lyle ("The Girl Gets Around"). While attempting to give Ariel her forgotten jacket, Rev. Moore catches Chuck with his hands around his daughter, much to his displeasure. The next day at his new school, Ren accidentally bumps into Willard Hewitt, a slow-witted cowboy with strong loyalty to his mother, who decides to beat up him up. Ren charms him and the two become friends. Ren, annoyed by how little there is to do in town, tells Willard about his exciting life in Chicago and starts to dance in the school's hallway ("I Can't Stand Still"). Willard tries to stop him, but Ren ignores his protests and puts on a show in front of everyone, including the school's principal, who angrily explains to him that dancing is illegal in the town of Bomont. Willard quickly comes to Ren's defense, explaining he is new in town and does not know the rules. As the hallway clears, Ren is introduced to Ariel's best friends: Rusty, Wendy Jo and Urleen. Rusty flirts with her crush, Willard, telling him how brave he is to have stood up to the principal on Ren's behalf. The girls explain to a bemused Ren that dancing in Bomont is, in fact, illegal; years ago, after a horrifying car accident killed four kids returning from a dance in a neighboring county, Moore became extremely righteous and campaigned to pass a law forbidding all residents from dancing. They warn him to lie low unless he wants to get into even more trouble than he already is. Unfortunately for Ren, his reputation has preceded him; the adults in town begin turn on him, leading to his uncle slapping him after Ren loses his part time job ("Somebody's Eyes"). After a night out with Chuck, Ariel returns home to her mother, Vi, and a disgruntled Shaw, who stubbornly ignores Ariel's repeated attempts to get him to engage in conversation. Exasperated, she leaves the room in a huff. Alone with his wife, Shaw expresses his concern over Ariel's rebellion and her relationship with Chuck, but when Vi attempts to advocate for her daughter and to assure him the fling will soon cool down, he silences her and storms off to finish writing his sermon. Vi, upset with not having a voice in her life, and Ethel, dealing with her new life circumstances, particularly after being forced into silence after her son is slapped, unknowingly commiserate with each other. They are joined by Ariel, and the three, each alone, lament how they have to stifle themselves and their opinions ("Learning to be Silent"). After school the next day, Ariel, Rusty, Wendy Jo, and Urleen do their homework at the Burger Blast, a local restaurant. Ren, now an employee there and dressed in his uniform, complete with roller skates, discusses his woes with Willard and questions him about his relationship with Rusty; he thinks she is very good-looking, but is confused by her non-stop talking. When Ren takes Ariel's order, she flirts with him, but Willard warns Ren that Chuck Cranston would not be happy if the two became involved. Ariel talks with her friends about how she wants to find a decent guy; one that will fight for her ("Holding Out for a Hero"). After Ariel realizes she's late to meet Chuck, he shows up in a fury and tries to force her to leave with him. Though Ren comes to her defense, it's Betty Blast, the restaurant owner, who ultimately breaks up the fight. Chuck storms off and Ren assumes he'll be fired again, but Betty tells him to come back tomorrow. Ariel, impressed with Ren after standing up to Chuck, takes him out to a field to see a passing train after he gets off work, where they open up to each other. Ariel tells him how her father was before the accident and her future plans, while Ren details how his father left his family. Upon Ariel's advice, he yells his grievances to the train as it passes. Unbeknownst to them, Chuck witnesses the pair together. Afterwards, Ariel and Ren walk back to her house, which catches Moore and Vi by surprise, as they had believed Ariel had been at home in her room while they hosted a bridge game downstairs. On top of Shaw's displeasure at his daughter's disobedience, a nervous Ren unintentionally insults him in an attempt to ease his worries, making the situation more awkward and causing all of Shaw's friends to dash off. As Ren leaves, an irritated Shaw sternly orders Ariel to cease her visits with him, but Ariel retaliates, claiming that all he is doing is making her feel like a prisoner. After a fed up daughter and wife storm off, Shaw begins to feel a pang of guilt, pondering whether he is being fair to his daughter and the problematic task of being both a preacher and a father ("Heaven Help Me"). At school the next day, Ren shows up late to gym class with Ariel and Willard after being jumped by Chuck. They try to explain this to the Coach, but he ignores their protests and punishes the entire class with fifty push-up each. Ren laments that the citizens of Bomont are so "wound up", muttering that at least in Chicago, he had the clubs to turn to in times of stress, to which Willard jokingly suggests that they "should take the coach dancing." Ren realizes that throwing a dance would be the perfect way to alleviate the teenagers' pressures, while at the same time making a statement to Moore and the town council. Ren reveals his plan to Ariel and all of his classmates, eventually winning them over. Word of this reaches Moore, who, as the one responsible for banning dancing to begin with, is determined to do anything within his power to ensure that a dance does not happen ("I'm Free/Heaven Helps The Man"). Act .... Discover the Gareth Pitchford popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Gareth Pitchford books.