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UPDATE: Arrest made after search of home that forced school to close in Hazleton

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A pirate comes to Scranton

<p>SWOYERSVILLE &#8212; Coach Dunbar is growling at the kids, ready to show that new student from Chicago who&#8217;s boss.</p><p>When another youth sticks up for Ren, the coach decides Willard can do push-ups, too.</p><p>Then, sensing defiance from the whole class, the coach gets really angry. &#8220;All of you can give me 50!&#8221;</p><p>Sigh. It&#8217;s so easy for young people to rile their elders in the small Midwestern town where &#8220;Footloose&#8221; takes place, especially if they like to dance, because dancing has been illegal ever since the minister&#8217;s son and several other teens were killed in a car crash.</p><p>That decision was an over-reaction &#8212; &#8220;completely,&#8221; said Mackenzie O&#8217;Donnell, 22, of Hazleton, who portrays the minister&#8217;s rebellious, red-booted daughter, Ariel, at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse, and the law creates a challenge for her character&#8217;s new friend, Ren.</p><p>&#8220;Dancing&#8217;s his life,&#8221; said Alexander Muniz, 19, of Wilkes-Barre, who has that lead role.</p><p>&#8220;Ren&#8217;s dancing allows him to be himself,&#8221; said Shelley Bartolomei of Swoyersville, who plays Ren&#8217;s mother. &#8220;You can&#8217;t have Ren without dancing.&#8221;</p><p>Faced with a law they believe unjust, what are the characters to do?</p><p>&#8220;Do what you feel is right and stick to your guns,&#8221; O&#8217;Donnell said.</p><p>Though his character sees the law as unreasonable, Muniz said, he still feels some sympathy for the minister who started it all &#8220;because his son passed away. That would be horrible.&#8221;</p><p>While Ren works on changing the town, O&#8217;Donnell said, audiences will be treated to lots of music and dance numbers. &#8220;It&#8217;s very high energy, and that will fan out into the audience,&#8221; she said. &#8220;People will be dancing in their seats.&#8221;</p><p>The original movie version of &#8220;Footloose&#8221; was set in the 1980s, but Music Box director Samantha Schugardt moved the setting to the late 1990s so she could include more recent dance styles and &#8220;have more fun with the costumes.&#8221;</p><p>A lifelong dancer, Schugardt said she wouldn&#8217;t have remained a law-abiding citizen in a place like the fictional Bomont.</p><p>&#8220;I would&#8217;ve been arrested,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I dance down the aisles when I&#8217;m shopping.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Mackenzie O&#8217;Donnell of Hazleton and Alexander Muniz of Wilkes-Barre play the principal roles of Ariel and Ren in the Music Box Dinner Playhouse production of &#8216;Footloose.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_footloose3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Mackenzie O&#8217;Donnell of Hazleton and Alexander Muniz of Wilkes-Barre play the principal roles of Ariel and Ren in the Music Box Dinner Playhouse production of &#8216;Footloose.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted Photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> &#8216;Footloose&#8217;</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Music Box Dinner Playhouse, 196 Hughes St., Swoyersville.</p><p><strong>When:</strong> Sept. 4 to 13, with performances at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. The bar opens 2 hours before show time and buffet is served 90 minutes before show time.</p><p><strong>Sept. 10</strong>: A free performance will be given for special-needs people.</p><p><strong>For reservations:</strong> 570 283-2195 or 1-800 698-PLAY.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Would you have been arrested in Beaumont? See ‘Footloose’ at the Music Box Playhouse in Swoyersville and decide for yourself