John Adams / Footloose

On this day in classical music: John Adams’ opera “Nixon in China” received its premiere by the Houston Grand Opera in 1987. Inspired by Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China, “Nixon in China” featured a libretto by Alice Goodman. The composer augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, added percussion and synthesizer. While parts of the opera feature minimalistic touches, others suggest the music of Wagner and Johann Strauss. Many critics were less than enthusiastic about “Nixon in China” but it has since been staged numerous times and has been recorded twice. Listen to “The Chairman Dances,” described by the composer as a foxtrot for orchestra, taken from the third act of “Nixon in China.” Johannes Müller-Stosch conducts the Cole Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbs7cUuk9z4

On this day in the musical theatre: “Footloose” opened on Broadway in 1998. Based on the 1984 film of the same name, “Footloose” tells the story of a young Chicago youth named Ren who moves with his mother to a small Midwestern town. One of the town’s preachers has seen to it that dancing is outlawed, a decision the boy views as archaic. Ren makes it his mission to change the preacher’s mind. Watch Jeremy Kushnier and the cast perform “I’m Free” from “Footloose” on the 1999 Macy Fourth of July spectacular. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVZYhbzxs4g

Musical musings: That poor, tormented Reverend Moore. All that worry for so little reason, all that anguish over something so tame. In “Footloose,” the flavorless marshmallow of a musical that opened last night at the Richard Rodgers Theater, this righteous minister of a small-town church spends most of the show fretting over the dangerous consequences of rock-and-roll, something he describes as “an endless chant of pornography.” Yet if only, early on, he could have shared the audience’s perspective on the way his town’s teen-agers dance to such music. Why, it’s less erotic, and considerably less involving, than an introductory aerobics class. Of course, if the Reverend had realized this in the production’s first scene instead of its last, then there wouldn’t be a show. That is not necessarily a bad thing. There have certainly been worse musicals on Broadway than “Footloose,” the $6.5 million adaptation of the hit 1984 movie that starred Kevin Bacon. Yet it’s hard to think of one so totally unaffecting. The music in the show is loud, for sure, with a propulsive beat designed to set toes tapping and fingers snapping. The score is peppered with flashy dance tunes from the movie that have boomed over disco floors for years. And there’s a young, eager, hard-working cast of dancers, somersaulting, back-flipping, wriggling to beat the band. But as directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by A. C. Ciulla, this production has a blurry, removed feeling, like a Xerox of a Polaroid. The show’s creators seem to be aiming at teen-agers whose parents won’t let them see the raunchier “Rent,” with a generation-crossing family entertainment that absolutely no one could object to. – Ben Brantley in The New York Times

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