It's the next to the last show for this Muny season, and the teens are taking over with "Footloose," based on the Kevin Bacon flick from 1984.

A high school boy and his newly-single mom leave Chicago for the small (in mind and geography) town life. And the young man, Ren, has a little trouble fitting in, especially when he discovers the town is ruled with an iron fist by a preacher who's banned dancing. And it doesn't help Ren's situation that he falls for the minister's hot daughter, Ariel, who's nothing but trouble. Ren fights 'the man' to get dancing allowed for his fellow teenagers and himself, and Ariel fights for respect from

her dad.

I loved this film when I was a kid, but I guess I feel a little silly now, watching the angst of teens who think their problems are bigger than anyone else's. And, movies can switch from scene to scene, location to location in a heartbeat. On stage, either the scenes feel too short or they get overwritten to lenghten them, and the script just feels a little thin, a little forced to me.

There are some highlights, however. Meggie Cansler as Ariel and Cathryn Basile, Amanda Choate and Kelly O'Neill, as her bestest girlfriends Rusty, Wendy Jo and Urleen, wail on the song "Holding Out for a Hero." It's perhaps my least favorite song from the movie, but I got goosebumps when these four ladies sang it last night at The Muny. They are, in a word, spectacular.

I think this is one of those shows that really wants to be important but is probably more fluff than fact. Be ready to see a bunch of teens having a blast together and some talented adult actors keeping up.