Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing (closing July 2011)

A trip down to the West End would be nothing without a stop off at the Aldwych Theatre, where audiences are able to take a journey back to the early 1980s for some classic movie romance. It is celebrated as a timeless ‘chick flick’ and cemented the star status of the late Patrick Swayze – it can only be “Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage”!

Set in the early 1960s in New York’s Catskill Mountains, “Dirty Dancing” has stood the test of time, with iconic characters from Swayze’s Johnny to Jennifer Grey’s ‘Baby’ Houseman. It is a story that is perfect for the stage, adapted by Eleanor Bergstein, the writer behind the hit movie, as well as films such as “Let It Be Me” (1995) and “It’s My Turn” (1980).

The year is 1963 and it is the time of year that the Houseman family take their annual vacation into the Catskill Mountains of New York, where they stay at the mountain camp of Kellerman’s. But this is going to be no ordinary vacation, particularly for the seventeen year old ‘Baby’, who is about to have the time of her life.

On the vacation she meets Johnny, a bad boy with gorgeous looks, who also happens to be a dance instructor who has a raunchy new style of dancing up his sleeve that he is about to teach her. For ‘Baby’, this is something completely new and whole worlds away from the traditional dances that her parents would prefer her perform. But whilst they take part in these ‘dirty dancing’ routines, something else is going on in Baby’s heart – she is falling in love with Johnny.

But she knows that her father can never find out about their forbidden love and when Johnny’s regular dance partner falls pregnant and takes illegal steps to get rid of the baby, Mr Houseman is soon to forbid Baby from having anything to do with Johnny or his dancing. It is a heartbreaking step for her and a tear jerking moment for those in the audience.

“Dirty Dancing” is a controversial story of raunchy dance moves and forbidden love; a famous narrative that is brought to life on stage with some famous musical numbers, such as “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life”, “Hungry Eyes” and “She’s Like The Wind”. These are songs plucked straight from the movie version and the latter was performed by Swayze himself. From Grammy Awards to chart hits, the soundtrack to “Dirty Dancing” is iconic and memorable, having managed to go platinum a total of eleven times. 

So all of this suggests that people should get to the Aldwych Theatre for the time of their lives, with critics hailing the production as the ‘Biggest Live Theatre Sensation of All Time” (The Observer) and insisting that it “is a show that will give keen pleasure to Dirty Dancing addicts and to newcomers’ alike” (The Independent). It is not one to miss!

“Dirty Dancing” continues at its home of the Aldwych Theatre until July 2011 when it finally closes.