ACT 2 Ren drives Ariel, Rusty and Willard a hundred miles outside of Bomont to a western dance hall where Irene and the Country Kickers keep things moving. There, Willard confesses to Ren that he can't dance; the news devastates Rusty. So, while the Cowboys give Willard his first lesson, Rusty explains to the Cowgirls just what it is she finds appealing about this guy with two left feet. When Ariel arrives home, her defiance provokes Show, and he stops just short of slapping his daughter. Shaw refuses to acknowledge to Vi that his treatment of Ariel has grown severe since the death of their son, who, as it turns out, was one of the four teens killed in that fateful car accident. Vi pleads her daughter's case, but Shaw, as usual, walks away from their confrontation. Meanwhile, Willard and his friends Bickle, Garvin, and Jeter try to prepare Ren for his upcoming confrontation with the Town Council where he'll challenge the local ordinance which buns dancing. When Ren gets discouraged and threatens to abandon the entire campaign, Willard focuses Ren's efforts with the somewhat loopy wisdom that Willard's mother is known for. Ariel arrives, angry and bruised after c fight wit Chuck Cranston I think we just broke up, she announces. She leads Ren to her private hideaway, a trestle below the railroad tracks above the river in which her brother Bobby drowned. There, high above the world's problems, they are surprised to discover that their friendship bus turned to love. At the long-awaited Town Council meeting, Ren makes his case by quoting passages from a Bible which Ariel hod marked for him. When Ren's motion is defected, he is devastated. Ethel convinces him that Shaw Moore had fixed the vote, and she urges him to go speak to the minister. Otherwise, she warns, you'll never make peace with this town. Ren finds Shaw in church, and admits to the Reverend that, perhaps, his campaign for a dance hod less to do with throwing a party and more to do with finding a renewed sense of purpose in the aftermath of his father's departure. When he turns the discussion to Shaw's son Bobby, though, the Reverend loses his temper and throws Ren out. Only then does Shaw realise how much the pain of Bobby's death has overshadowed his life - and the lives of everyone in Bomont - and, after a struggle with his conscience, he announces to his parishioners that he has hod a change of heart; that, in fact, a dance might be a good idea. After church, Shaw's new found peace of mind allows him to reaffirm his love for Vi. And so, for the first time in years, the young people of Bomont are able to dress up and tear up this town; and when Reverend Moore enters with Vi and all the other adults in town, the evening finally becomes, not only a celebration, but also an ecstatic expression of healing. Original London Cast •Stephen McGann - Reverend Shaw Moore •Cheryl Baker - Vi Moore •Derek Hough - Ren McCormack •Lorna Want - Ariel Moore •Johnny Shentall - Chuck Cranston •Giovanni Spano - Willard Hewitt
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