You’re never quite sure what to expect when a popular movie is turned into a musical for the stage. Rocky recently went down for the count on Broadway despite some Tony nods, a national production of Flashdance was mediocre at best, and fare like Legally Blonde, Xanadu and Footloose all had some memorable moments, but nonetheless were considered commercial flops.
Still, last season’s production of Beaches at Signature Theatre was one of the season’s highlights and Billy Elliot, Newsies and Matilda have all found success.
Dirty Dancing—The Classic Story on Stage, playing at the National Theatre until Sunday, Sept. 14, can be considered part of the latter group of successes. Director James Powell makes the musical fun, upbeat and offers a great story that will be loved by all.
If you’re a devotee of the movie, there’s plenty to get excited about. In-jokes and favorite scenes abound, whether it’s Johnny’s cousin walking in with the watermelon, Lisa awkwardly doing the hula dance and singing ‘Hula Hana” and of course everyone’s favorite line: “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
Samuel Pergande gets to utter that signature line and Patrick Swayze would be proud of his portrayal of Johnny, the smoldering dancer who wins the heart of Baby and “dirty” dances his way into the heart of the audience as well.
Jillian Mueller is exceptional as Baby, blending the perfect amount of innocence and sex appeal, and managing to look as if she has no business on a dance floor at first, yet becomes an incredible dancer by play’s end. She adds a bit more humor to the role than Jennifer Grey did and has great chemistry with Pergande.
As Penny, your eyes are peeled to the mesmerizing dancing of Jenny Winton in her red dress. It’s as if a Rockettes dancer decided to tackle the forbidden dance of Lambada. The other dancers in the musical are strong as well and some of the best scenes are when they are playfully “dirty dancing” in the behind-the-wall cabins of the Kellerman Resort.
The plot follows the movie almost religiously, which makes sense seeing that the film’s screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein helmed the musical. In the summer of 1963, a 17-year-old Frances “Baby” Houseman and her family go away to the Catskills for a vacation, complete with fox trot lessons, bingo games and shuffleboard. Baby happens upon the staff “dirty dancing” at an after-work party and tries to help a dancer in trouble. To do this, she must partner with Johnny (king of the dancers) and learn the steps to dance at a nearby resort and save their jobs.
Of course, the animosity between Johnny and Baby soon turns to attraction and before long, the two are having….the Time of Their Life (yes, I went there!)
The show has some fun with background scenes, making it look as if the dancing couple is practicing in water and among the high grass of the plains. While these might be silly in context, they work well for the production and bring smiles to the audience.
Dirty Dancing does get a little too serious at times—ramping up the social rights movement more than the movie did and concentrating a lot of time on Penny’s abortion, but the music always seems to get things back on track.
Be warned, although all the big hits from the movie are in the musical, most aren’t sung by the cast, but are played in the background. Most of the singing duties were handled by ensemble members Jennlee Shallow and Doug Carpenter (who also handled the watermelons!) The former was a knockout on “You Don’t Own Me” and “We Shall Overcome,” while the latter did a crowd-pleasing rendition of “In the Still of the Night.” I was a little disappointed that Pergande didn’t get to sing “She’s Like the Wind” in Swayze style.
Still, if you’re a fan of the movie—and I certainly am—you’re going to love this musical. I’m not sure how those unfamiliar with the story will react, but with a top-notch cast, a killer soundtrack and some incredible dancing, how can you can go wrong?
