Following on from last year’s successful run, celebrating the 35th anniversary of the film’s release, Dirty Dancing The Classic Story On Stage returns to the Dominion Theatre for another season. Directed by Federico Bellone, this heavy blast of nostalgia has the audience begging for more.
It’s possibly one of the most famous films of all time, and a good proportion of the audience will already know what to expect. In fact, it’s evident from the whoops and cheers as certain iconic lines or dance moves are delivered. This on stage version of Dirty Dancing keeps pretty close to the story of the film, and even manages to pull off some of the trickier scenes with some nifty effects.
That said, considering the size of the Dominion stage it’s a pretty simple set, and certainly less ambitious than other recent shows at the venue. But this story of passion and dance doesn’t need spectacular set pieces, it delivers the spectacle in other ways.
What will delight audiences the most, is that this Dirty Dancing doesn’t take itself too seriously – it knows where the cheesy moments are and leans into them allowing us to laugh along with it. Where it’s not milking the comedy, it’s seriously sexy; Austin Wilks choreography is a remarkable homage to the movie, and has the cast gyrating and sashaying in all manner of ways.
Much like it acknowledges it’s cheesiness, Dirty Dancing, goes all out to take advantage of it’s sexiness, hot and sultry dance moves accompany some of the most well-known songs in film history; and they are all there, from ‘Hungry Eyes’ to the iconic ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’, which sends the audience into ecstasy.
Unusually for a musical, the majority of songs are performed by the ensemble or on-stage band, Danny Colligan and Lydia Sterling taking the limelight more than once, and this allows Baby, Johnny et al to behave as they did in the film, rather than bursting into song every two minutes.
Kira Malou and Michael O’Reilly certainly resemble their on-screen counterparts physically, but they also succeed in bringing their own steer to the characters, so much so that by the end, you may be asking ‘Patrick who?’. Their dance skills are breath-taking and the chemistry between the two is clear to see.
Fans of the film are going to love this stage adaptation, it’s a fitting tribute in so many ways; Georgina Castle’s portrayal of Lisa is spot on, for example. More importantly, Dirty Dancing is pure escapism, a trip down memory lane to a time when Kellerman’s seemed like paradise, and the whole world knew that nobody puts Baby in the corner.
Comments 1