Footloose first burst onto the silver screen in 1984 and proved to be one of the year’s most successful motion pictures. The soundtrack recording reached #1 on the Billboard charts, and went on to sell over 17 million copies worldwide, generating such Top Forty hits as the title song and “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” (both of which received Academy Award nominations), “Almost Paradise,” “Holding Out For A Hero,” and “I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man).” With a screenplay and lyrics by Oscar winner Dean Pitchford, the story focused on young people, much like his previous, and wildly successful, movie musical
Fame.Footloose opened on Broadway on October 22, 1998. The next day, the show broke the box office record for the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it continued to thrill audiences through July 2000.
After the Broadway run, the creators made changes throughout the libretto, excised three songs from the original score, and restored one (“Still Rockin’,” available on the newly mastered Broadway CD from Ghostlight Records). The reaction to the ‘new’ Footloose was immediate and enthusiastic; a tour in the U.K. led to a West End engagement, which in turn triggered excitement throughout Europe and around the globe.
In 2011, Paramount Pictures’ remake of Footloose – with a screenplay by Dean Pitchford and the film’s director Craig Brewer – brought this heartwarming story and electrifying music to a whole new generation.