Another write-up about Gareth in Footloose, and another lovely picture of him.
love Carol xxx
THE Festival Theatre Edinburgh is to host the first Scottish dates of a new touring production of the worldwide smash hit musical Footloose.
THE UK tour will hit the capital in February and have additional dates in Glasgow and Aberdeen in June 2016.
The cast of Footloose: The Musical includes Gareth Gates as Willard, Maureen Nolan as Vi Moore and Luke Baker as Ren McCormack.
Based on the iconic 1984 film starring Kevin Bacon, Footloose: The Musical tells the story of city boy Ren, who has to move to a rural backwater in America where dancing is banned but rebel Ren has the whole town up on its feet.
Featuring classic 80s hits including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let’s Hear it for the Boy and the title track, the musical is set to take the world by storm once again in this production, bursting with youthful spirit, dazzling dance and electrifying music.
When the film was released in 1984, it became the highest-grossing February release in US movie history.
The soundtrack album ended the year-long reign of Michael Jackson’s Thriller in the No1 spot and went on to top album charts all over the world, eventually selling in excess of 17million copies.
Footloose was nominated for a Golden Globe, and both the title song and Let’s Hear It for the Boy received Academy Award nominations.
Footloose: The Musical first opened on Broadway in 1998 where it ran for 709 performances, with a London production following in 2006, opening at the Novello Theatre following a UK Tour.
Gareth Gates will play Willard from January 29 until April 16, returning to the show from June 20 – it means he will miss out on the Glasgow dates but he will be back on stage in Aberdeen.
Gareth rose to fame through the inaugural series of Pop Idol in 2001, going on to sell over five million records worldwide.
More recently, he has enjoyed a successful career on stage, with credits including Les Miserables, Legally Blonde and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Maureen Nolan has been singing with her sisters since she was nine, when they became one of Europe’s first girl bands, The Nolans.
Best known for their smash hit single I’m in the Mood for Dancing, on stage Maureen has played Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers in the West End and on tour to critical acclaim.
She was the fourth Nolan sister to play the role, earning them entry into the Guinness World Records.
Luke Baker will play Ren McCormack, the role immortalised on screen by Bacon. Luke is about to finish playing Theo in Green Day’s American Idiot in the West End, with other West End credits including the Olivier Award-winning Sunny Afternoon, Beautiful Thing and I Can’t Sing.
■ Footloose is at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tuesday to Saturday, February 16-20. Box office: 0131 529 6000,
Glasgow King’s Theatre, Monday to Saturday June 13-18. Box office: 0844 871 7648,
www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre;Aberdeen’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, Monday to Saturday, June 20-25.
Box office: 01224 641122,
www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/venues/his-majestys-theatre Attachments:
THANK YOU CAROL FOR THIS INFO. 
? can't wait for it x
