Dirty Dancing

Published Thursday 26 October 2006 at 14:10 by Katie Phillips

There might not be much that can make you wish you were a teenager again but if anything has the power to make you feel nostalgic about those angst ridden years, wishing you were 17, living at home and holidaying with the folks again, then this is it.

Eleanor Bergstein’s stage musical - she was author of the original film - retells the classic story of “that summer” at Kellerman’s when privileged do-gooder Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman falls for roguish player Johnny Castle, the resort’s brooding dance teacher.

It is a summer of change and of radicalisation. While Baby learns a few things about life and love as well as a whole lot of rhythm, the musical also touches on the social, racial and economic divides of sixties America - the influence of the Beatles, the Peace Corps, abortion, Kennedy and the black uprising.

Those die hard fans of the film who grew up obsessing over it will not be disappointed as only one campfire scene strays from the path of the celluloid. I guarantee you will be able to happily quote along, as the script is almost word for word the same.

It is undoubtedly a shameless money-maker capitalising on the success of the film and some might deem the theatre version an unnecessary expense - especially as, admit it, most of you own the DVD anyway - but there is something about reliving the film in an auditorium, seeing these new characters performing the roles that we know and love in the flesh. Alongside the kitsch sparkle and rampant nostalgia, the intensity of seeing it up close and personal is sensational. The cast plays to the audience as if we are guests at Kellerman’s, placing us at the centre of the drama, allowing us to lose ourselves in the magic of the songs, really feel the summer heat, to experience the storms and romantic evenings. It makes us feel part of the action because, let’s face it, that’s where we’ve always wanted to be.

While the first half drifts along happily enough, the latter positively sizzles. We are all anticipating the climax, so by the time Johnny bursts back on to the scene to proclaim that infamous line “Nobody puts Baby in the corner” the audience is practically hysterical.

Stephen Brimson Lewis’ set pays homage to the film by using filmic and photographic backdrops. Key scenes are lovingly and inventively recreated on a revolving stage, the lake scene with particular effect through the use of gauze, a smoke machine and splash sound effects.

Kate Champion’s scorching choreography of sensual hip swaying, high leg kicking, pulsating and grinding comes alive in the vibrant party scenes in the staff quarters. Couples partner dance, bodies melt together, swirl and sway.

The long limbed Josef Brown as Johnny will thrill the girls with his seductive hip undulations, his rippling six-pack making good a dodgy Aussie-American accent. Brown’s chemistry with the well cast Georgina Rich as Baby is convincing and her combination of sweet innocence and feisty resolve is perfectly expressed. The devastatingly gorgeous Nadia Coote as Penny Johnson dances up a storm while managing to convey the trauma of her more serious plotline, and Isabella Calthorpe is well deserving of a mention for her hilarious rendition as she “hulas all the day away”.

Whether or not you will have the time of your life remains to be seen. While not a patch on the film, it is an intense live alternative. Definitely one for the girls.