Theatre Review: Dirty Dancing

Image Source: ATG

Written By: Alison Jones

Format: Musical
Genre: Romantic Drama
Date: September 18 2017
Location: Liverpool Empire Theatre

On a rather windy, rainy autumnal night at Liverpool Empire, we were transported to an American 60’s summer at Kellerman’s resort in the mountains (which vaguely reminded me of days spent at Pontin’s Middleton Towers holiday camp in Morecambe and their photocopied entertainment schedules).

The latest musical stage version of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing follows the original dialogue without any variance, albeit at a rather rushed pace, particularly in the first half. Katie Eccles, who plays Frances Houseman (‘Baby’), is very believable and reminds us of those idealistic times and carefree summers.

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Dirty Dancing

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Format: Stage Show
Genre: Romantic Drama
Date: April 9 2015
Location: Liverpool Empire Theatre, Liverpool, England

There's an expression that something can be summed up in a few words. In the world of show business, sometimes it's a song or an image that can be used to perfectly encapsulate such a feeling. And in the case of Dirty Dancing, it is a song and an image which summarises the movie: I've Had The Time Of My Life by Bill Withers and Jennifer Warnes is the song, and the image is of the character of Johnny Castle lifting Baby Houseman into the air. They are the two things which immediately come to mind when you think of this film. But in the theatre, whilst the aforementioned song and the famous closing dance are the stand-out moments, the stage show adaptation of Dirty Dancing has a lot more to offer.

Set in New York's Catskill Mountains in the summer of 1963, Dirty Dancing tells the story of 17-year-old Frances "Baby" Houseman, who is on holiday with her older sister and her parents. There are a bunch of resort activities on offer, but for Baby, there is greater interest to be found in the night-time activities, most notably the all-night dance party that she stumbles upon. It is there, whilst helping Billy Kostecki to carry watermelons, that she meets his cousin Johnny Castle, the main dance instructor, and slowly their relationship begins.

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"Dirty Dancing has had a great response in Liverpool"

L-R: Claire Rogers (Penny Johnson),
Lewis Kirk (Johnny Castle) and
Roseanna Frascona (Baby Houseman).

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Liverpool Empire Theatre

Prior to tonight's showing of Dirty Dancing at the Liverpool Empire, Mark Armstrong spoke with three leading cast members - Roseanna Frascona, who plays Baby Houseman; Lewis Kirk, who plays Johnny Castle; and Claire Rogers, who plays Penny Johnson - to discuss the show, the Liverpool audience and how often the famous dance scene was rehearsed ...

Firstly, explain the plot of Dirty Dancing to those who may be unfamiliar.

Claire: "Penny Johnson is the dance instructor at Kellerman's. She's also best friends with Johnny Castle, and they've both been friends for many years. Baby comes on holiday to Kellerman's, and suddenly she gets intertwined with Johnny and Penny's lives. You see a whole friendship developing, but at the same time, Penny's going through a very difficult time in her life. There's a lot of sadness, and Baby kind of steps in and pretty much saves the day. So, for me as Penny, you see my work side (at Kellerman's), and then you see the real side of what's actually going on in her life. Which is great, because there's lots of different emotions and dance numbers and scenes. So, it's a packed show."

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Get Ready For The Time Of Your Life

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Liverpool Empire Theatre

Following its phenomenal run in 2012, the record-breaking sensation Dirty Dancing returns next week to Liverpool Empire for three weeks only.

Diane Belding, Liverpool Empire General Manager, commented: "We're delighted that Dirty Dancing is returning to the Liverpool Empire in 2015. The audience response in 2012 was unparalleled to anything that had come before it and I don’t doubt the response this time round will be just as phenomenal. If you didn’t manage to get your tickets during the last tour make sure you book now as you don’t want to miss out when Dirty Dancing takes to the Empire stage in April."

Gareth Bailey will star as Johnny Castle, one of the most iconic roles in popular culture. Gareth started his Dirty Dancing journey in the first UK tour where he played Robbie. He then went on to  play Johnny Castle in South Africa as part of the international tour of Dirty Dancing, prior to joining the West End company at the Piccadilly Theatre. Other credits include Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show (UK tour); Starlight Express (Germany); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Theatre Royal Plymouth) and Cinderella (Cliffs Pavilion).

Roseanna Frascona will be carrying the watermelon as idealistic Baby Houseman, who discovers love and life in the summer she will never forget. Roseanna’s credits include At First Sight (UK tour); The Taming of the Shrew (international tour); Murder in the Cathedral (Oxford Playhouse) and Antigone (Southwark Playhouse).

Claire Rogers will play Penny Johnson. Claire’s credits include Dirty Dancing (Piccadilly); Chicago (UK tour); Moulin Rouge (Paris and international tours) and La Varieté (Hackney Empire). Her film and television credits include Nine (The Weinstein Company); Victoria Wood’s Christmas Cracker - The Giddy Kipper and Fashion TV (Sky) and Star Academy for French TV.

The cast also includes James Coombes as Dr. Jake Houseman, Julia J. Nagle as Marjorie Houseman, Jessie-Lou Yates as Lisa Houseman, Colin Charles as Tito Suarez, Alexander Wolfe as Neil Kellerman, Michael Remick as Max Kellerman, Wayne Smith as Billy Kostecki and Mark Faith as Mr Schumacher. Also joining the company are James Bennett, Sarah Cortez, Lizzi Franklin, Francis Haugen, Antony Hewitt, Verity Jones, Lewis Kirk, Robin Lake, Garry Lee, Carly Miles, Carlie Milner, Simone Mistry-Palmer, Marlon Moore, Brandon Lee Sears and Natalie Winsor.

The Dirty Dancing tour launches at the Bristol Hippodrome on March 15 2014, and will then visit Sheffield, Newcastle, Southampton, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Oxford, Eastbourne, Sunderland, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Liverpool.

The first ever UK tour took an unprecedented £42,000,000 at theatres across the country and received standing ovations and 5 star reviews. It also smashed box office records in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dublin, Leeds and Stoke-On-Trent. The production subsequently ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End until February 23 2014, prior to launching a new UK and Ireland tour in March 2014.

Produced by Karl Sydow and Joye Entertainment, in association with Lionsgate and Magic Hour Productions, and written by Eleanor Bergstein, scriptwriter of the phenomenally successful 1987 film, the production features all the much-loved characters and original dialogue from the iconic film with exciting extra scenes added in.

The tantalising dance sequences and brand new choreography come alive on stage, set to all the hits from the unforgettable soundtrack, including ‘Do You Love Me?, ‘Hungry Eyes’ and the Academy Award Winning ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life’, plus many additional songs, making the show a truly extraordinary live experience.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage opened at the Aldwych Theatre in 2006 with a record-breaking advance of £15 million, making it the fastest ever selling show in West End theatre history. The production became the longest running show in the history of the famous Aldwych Theatre and played to over 2 million people during its triumphant 5 year run. A hit show all around the world, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage has opened in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and South Africa, consistently breaking box office records.

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage runs in the Liverpool Empire Theatre from Monday April 7-Friday April 25. For ticket information, click here.

You can learn more about Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage by clicking here.

Dirty Dancing Returning To Liverpool Empire

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Liverpool Empire Theatre

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is returning to the Liverpool Empire next month as part of its 2015 UK and Ireland tour.

Diane Belding, Liverpool Empire General Manager, commented: "We're delighted that Dirty Dancing is returning to the Liverpool Empire in 2015.

"The audience response in 2012 was unparalleled to anything that had come before it, and I don’t doubt that the response this time round will be just as phenomenal.

"If you didn’t manage to get your tickets during the last tour, make sure you book now, as you don’t want to miss out when Dirty Dancing takes to the Empire stage in April."

Gareth Bailey will star as Johnny Castle, one of the most iconic roles in popular culture; Gareth started his Dirty Dancing journey in the first UK tour where he played Robbie, before going on to play Johnny Castle in South Africa as part of the international tour of Dirty Dancing, prior to joining the West End company at the Piccadilly Theatre. Other credits include Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show (UK tour); Starlight Express (Germany); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Theatre Royal Plymouth), and Cinderella (Cliffs Pavilion).

Roseanna Frascona will be carrying the watermelon as idealistic Baby Houseman, who discovers love and life in the summer she will never forget; her credits include At First Sight (UK tour); The Taming of the Shrew (international tour); Murder in the Cathedral (Oxford Playhouse) and Antigone (Southwark Playhouse).

Claire Rogers will play Penny Johnson; Claire’s theatre credits include Dirty Dancing (Piccadilly); Chicago (UK tour); Moulin Rouge (Paris and international tours) and La Varieté (Hackney Empire). Her film and television credits include Nine (The Weinstein Company); Victoria Wood’s Christmas Cracker - The Giddy Kipper and Fashion TV (Sky) and Star Academy for French TV.

The cast also includes James Coombes as Dr. Jake Houseman, Julia J. Nagle as Marjorie Houseman, Jessie-Lou Yates as Lisa Houseman, Colin Charles as Tito Suarez, Alexander Wolfe as Neil Kellerman, Michael Remick as Max Kellerman, Wayne Smith as Billy Kostecki, and Mark Faith as Mr Schumacher.

Also joining the company are James Bennett, Sarah Cortez, Lizzi Franklin, Francis Haugen, Antony Hewitt, Verity Jones, Lewis Kirk, Robin Lake, Garry Lee, Carly Miles, Carlie Milner, Simone Mistry-Palmer, Marlon Moore, Brandon Lee Sears and Natalie Winsor.

The Dirty Dancing tour launched at the Bristol Hippodrome on March 15 2014, and has visited Sheffield, Newcastle, Southampton, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Oxford, Eastbourne, Sunderland, Edinburgh and Cardiff before finally coming to Liverpool next month.

The first ever UK tour took an unprecedented £42,000,000 at theatres across the country and received standing ovations and five-star reviews; it also smashed box office records in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dublin, Leeds and Stoke-On-Trent.

The production subsequently ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End until February 23 2014, prior to launching a new UK and Ireland tour the following month.

Produced by Karl Sydow and Joye Entertainment, in association with Lionsgate and Magic Hour Productions, and written by Eleanor Bergstein, scriptwriter of the phenomenally successful 1987 film, the production features all the much-loved characters and original dialogue from the iconic film with exciting extra scenes added in.

The tantalising dance sequences and brand new choreography come alive on stage, set to all the hits from the unforgettable soundtrack, including Do You Love Me?, Hungry Eyes and the Academy Award-winning (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, plus many additional songs, making the show a truly extraordinary live experience.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage opened at the Aldwych Theatre in 2006 with a record-breaking advance of £15 million, making it the fastest ever selling show in West End theatre history. The production became the longest running show in the history of the famous Aldwych Theatre and played to over 2 million people during its triumphant 5 year run. A hit show all around the world, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage has opened in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and South Africa, consistently breaking box office records.

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage runs in the Liverpool Empire Theatre from Monday April 7-Friday April 25. For ticket information, click here.

You can learn more about Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage by clicking here.