“That was the summer of 1963 – when everybody called me Baby, and it didn’t occur to me to mind. That was the summer we went to Kellerman’s.”
Dirty Dancing – the stage show production of the beloved 1987 cult film, sizzling with sexy dance moves and hot summer romances is back for a revamped UK tour following two successful runs in London’s West End.
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The famous love story introduces Frances “Baby” Houseman (Kira Malou), a sweet and innocent daddy’s girl who plans to right the wrongs of the world as she arrives at the Kellerman holiday resort with her family. There she meets Johnny Castle (Michael O’Reilly), the sexy brooding dancer who teaches Baby how to dance but more importantly how to fall in love.
After Baby volunteers to fill in as Johnny’s dance partner, she journeys from awkward and wooden dancing to full blown raunchy routines in this classic coming of age story.
The show features all the classic hits from the film including Do you Love Me?, These Arms of Mine, Yes! and (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life with a mix of live vocal performances, a live band and musical excerpts.
The costumes, set design, lighting and characterisation all remain loyal and true to the original movie – which is perhaps essential given the cult following that remains over 30 years later
The story covers lots of key issues such as family, first love, loyalty and teenage pregnancy. However, it’s the chemistry of the central lovebirds that drives the story through enchanting choreography with every twist, twirl and turn.
Ripped and hunky heartthrob O’Reilly had difficult boots to fill to match the charisma and sex appeal of Patrick Swayse. However his impressive dancing talent and brooding charm soon had the ladies swooning – receiving lots of whoops and wolf-whistling from the audience.
Malou is ideally cast as Baby who blossoms from an awkward young girl to a woman ready to take on the world. Of course the end of season dance featuring Johnny and Baby was the moment the crowd had been waiting for. The audience burst into cheers and applause as O’Reilly delivered the famous line “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” before performing the well-loved routine complete with the incredible “lift” at the end.
The show is packed full of sex appeal, passion, romance and of course lots and lots of dirty dancing. At times the acting and vocal performances are not quite as polished as the routines however the success and enjoyment of the show is all about the dancing.
Gillian Bruce’s incredible challenging choreography embraces all the elements of the original film and the cast of well-trained performers deliver high energy, punchy, steamy routines from start to finish which would rival any Strictly! performance.
Simone Covele shines as Penny Johnson, Johnny’s original dance partner, with exceptional choreography that mesmerises the audience from her first performance.
There are some good vocal performances throughout, namely from Billy Kostecki (Alex Wheeler) with a beautiful rendition of In the Still of the Night (Ill Remember). Lizzie Ottley provides most of the comedy moments as the irritating sister Lisa Houseman – her shrill and kooky performance of the Hula song was memorable to say the least!
The set design was particularly impressive, if not ambitious, with various rotating pieces, technical detail and staging tricks. The scene changes were slick and well-rehearsed, punctuated by effective lighting and sound production that are to be commended for a touring show. The clever recreation of the river scene where the famous lift is first demonstrated was a particular highlight.
Whether you are a long time fan of the original movie or a newcomer to the classic lovestory, this tour is a must-see.
Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story runs at the King’s Theatre from Mon 20 – Sat 25 May 2019 and tickets are on sale now.