Oklahoma City University | OCU cuts loose to open music theater season Skip to content
News

OCU cuts loose to open music theater season

Oklahoma City University’s Opera and Music Theater Company opens its season Sept. 27-29 with “Footloose,” the Tony-nominated Broadway musical based on the iconic 1984 movie inspired by the lifting of a ban on dancing in Elmore City, Oklahoma.

Featuring a cast of 45 and a nine-piece rock band, OCU’s Bass School of Music production will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie’s release with three performances — 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 and 28 and 2 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Kirkpatrick Auditorium, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave. 

Tickets ($15-$30) are available at okcu.edu/tickets or by calling 405-208-5227. A “Footloose”-themed pre-show opening night dinner ($25) featuring entertainment by OCU students begins at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Bass Music Center atrium. A free director’s talk will be held 45 minutes before curtain of each performance.

The coming-of-age dance musical opened on Broadway in 1998 and ran for 709 performances before kicking off a national tour. The movie’s Oscar- and Grammy-nominated soundtrack is the basis for the score, which includes pop hits such as “Footloose,” “Holding Out for a Hero,” “Almost Paradise” and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy.” 

“This is a wonderful parable about facing down an overreach of power in a small town, which builds to a celebration of reconciliation and love,” said David Herendeen, who is beginning his 27th season as director of OCU’s opera and music theater program.

Matthew Mailman will lead the “Footloose” band, marking the start of his 30th season on the OCU podium and his 56th OCU production.

The show features choreography by Sheri Hayden, costume design by Allison Winsby, lighting design by Aaron Mooney, scenic design by Jason Foreman, and sound design by Josie Mueller.

OCU’s season continues with the musical comedy “The Drowsy Chaperone” Oct. 4-6; mainstage opera “The Ballad of Baby Doe” Nov. 15-17; The Go-Go’s jukebox musical “Head Over Heels” Feb. 14-16; a mainstage opera twin bill of “Strawberry Fields” and “Gianna Schicchi” Feb. 21-23; and the season-finale musical Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” April 11-13.

The Wanda L. Bass School of Music is home to the Oklahoma Opera & Music Theater Company, the nation’s oldest campus-based troupe now celebrating its 73rd consecutive season. OCU has been honored with 11 National Opera Association production awards and selected multiple times by Playbill for its “Big Ten” honor roll of top schools educating Broadway performers. For details, visit okcu.edu/music.

Back to all news
Back to Top