Dirty Dancing waltzed into the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, this week for a short run until Saturday January 24.
THE ORIGINAL 1987 film, one of the most successful independent movies of all time, propelled American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter Patrick Swayze to international megastar status.
The story, set at the height of the American civil rights movement in 1963, is a classic love-conquers-all tale.
Dr Houseman, his wife and two daughters, Frances (‘Baby’) and Lisa, visit the Kellerman’s holiday camp for their annual family holiday together. Kellerman’s is an upmarket summer camp with entertainers and dancers employed to keep the guests happy and amused.
Star dancers Johnny Castle and Penny Johnson entertain the rich guests each evening with spectacular dance routines while, on the side, Johnny gives private lessons to the wives of the rich husbands attending the summer camp who prefer to play golf.
Penny becomes pregnant by Robbie, one of the entertainment team, and Baby borrows money from her father, the doctor, to pay for an abortion which goes badly wrong.
Baby asks her father to help Penny, causing the doctor to realise what Baby had used the money he gave her for. He is very unhappy about the money being used for the abortion, does not approve of her seeing Johnny and forbids her to see him.
The wallet of a customer staying at Kellerman’s is stolen, Johnny is accused of stealing it and Baby has to admit that she was sleeping with Johnny at the time to give him an alibi and try to stop him being fired. It is against the rules for the entertainers to fraternise with the customers and Johnny gets fired.
Despite being fired, Johnny returns to perform the last big dance of the season with Baby. Dr Houseman realises that Johnny did not make Penny pregnant, tells Baby that he loved her dance with Johnny and everyone lives happy ever after.
The staging and design of this production is first class, with the use of visuals, projections and LED screens adding an extra dimension to the show. At times you feel you are watching a film.
The musical score is a songbook of the early sixties performed by the first-class house band, who are visible on stage all night. The sound they make is ravishing and perfect in helping set the different moods of the show.
The choreography is top-notch and executed really well by the huge cast of dancers, who are clearly enjoying themselves.
This production is a real team effort, however a few individual performances deserve mention.
Roseanna Frascona brings vulnerability to the role of Baby. She plays ‘awkward’ convincingly and produces some fine moves in the final (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life number. While looking remarkably like Jennifer Grey, who played the role in the movie, she manages to stamp her own personality on the show and make the role her own.
Claire Rogers playing Penny Johnson makes a striking profile on the stage. A trained ballerina with legs to her chin, she is elegant and sassy and I could not take my eyes off her all night.
Alexander Wolfe plays Neil, the son of the owner of Kellerman’s, who is being trained to eventually take over the reins from his father. Many of the comedic moments come his way. He plays goofy and silly equally well and successfully endears himself to the audience despite the fact he is very irritating.
To cover such an iconic role, created on film by Patrick Swayze as Johnny, must be daunting for any actor. In the movie Swayze oozes sex appeal. Gareth Bailey plays Johnny a bit ‘posh’ for my liking. He is a magnificent beast on stage, fine body, dances brilliantly and sings very well, but personally I would have preferred him to play the role more deep down and dirty. However, the women in the audience seemed very happy with what they were getting, so I will bow down to their experience on this one.
This is an innovative, fast-moving production, beautifully directed with a great walk-up and encore section at the end. The show clearly has a huge fanatical fan base and when they left the theatre everyone seemed very happy with the evening’s entertainment. The feel-good factor was very high!
Dirty Dancing runs until January 24.
Tickets from £29.
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