Show Synopsis:
Ren McCormack and his mother have to move out of Chicago to live with his aunt and uncle in small-town Bomont. Ren becomes friends with Willard and begins to learn how conservative and small-minded the town is, particularly through Reverend Moore and his sermons against the evils of rock ?n? roll and dancing, which Ren loves to do. Reverend Moore?s son died in a horrific car crash after a dance, causing it to be outlawed. Ren and Reverend Moore?s rebel daughter Ariel begin to flirt, even though she is involved with a bad boy named Chuck, who gets increasingly angry as they talk and flirt with each other. Ren angers Reverend Moore when he walks Ariel home after she was supposed to be up in her bedroom, and then unintentionally insults him. Reverend Moore forbids Ariel to see Ren and they fight. Ren decides that he wants to throw a dance in Bomont and begins to get the students? support. He takes Ariel, Willard, and Willard?s crush Rusty to a nearby town?s dance hall and teaches Willard to dance to impress Rusty. Reverend Moore gets angry at Ariel when she lies about where she was, and Ren and Willard start to plan their dance presentation to the town council. Ariel shows up with a black eye from Chuck, who is angry that she went dancing with Ren, and a Bible with passages marked for Ren?s town council presentation. Although he uses the passages at the meeting, Ren?s case id dismissed. Ren goes to Reverend Moore?s house and speaks to him about loss and how to cope with it, and Reverend Moore tells the town in a sermon that the town will hold a dance. Ren asks Ariel to the dance, Willard asks Rusty, and everyone attends the dance together.
Character:
Ariel Moore, a headstrong teenage girl who wants to feel free and is frustrated that her father does not allow her that; longs to find romance with a nice guy.
Song Context:
Ariel tells her friends that she's holding out for a genuninely good guy, which is why she does not care if Chuck finds out that she has been flirting with Ren, because she feels that Ren might be the better guy for her.
Fun Facts:
1) This musical was based on the hit 1984 film.
2) This song was originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler for the scene in the original film when Ariel's boyfriend and Ren play each other at chicken with tractors.
3) Jennifer Laura Thompson made her Broadway debut playing the role of Ariel in the original Broadway production.
"Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need.
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night.
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light.
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life.
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy,
Somewhere just beyond my reach,
There's someone reaching back for me.
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat,
It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet.
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above,
Out where the lightning splits the sea.
I would swear that there's someone, somewhere,
Watching me.
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood.
I can feel his approach
Like the fire in my blood
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night.
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light.
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon"