Dirty Dancing Opens Oct. 24 in London
By James Inverne
24 Oct 2006
Dirty Dancing, the most eagerly awaited of the current crop of new West End musicals, receives its official opening night Oct. 24 at the Aldwych Theatre. Previews began Sept. 29.
With more than £6 million (over $11 million) in ticket sales, the show has broken West End records for advance box-office takings.
Australian dancer Josef Brown reprises his performance, created for the original 2004 Australian production, as the rugged dance instructor Johnny Castle.
British RADA graduate Georgina Rich plays the role of Frances “Baby” Houseman, who falls for the dance instructor during her stay at the Kellermans holiday camp, where the story is set. The show goes by the tage line “The Classic Story On Stage,” referring to the original 1987 movie starring Patrick Swayze (currently appearing in the London revival of Guys and Dolls) and Jennifer Grey. The stage version retains the film’s Oscar-winning song “The Time of My Life.”
Brown is a former principal dancer with the Australian Ballet, and Rich made her West End debut in this year’s revival of Honour, appearing with Diana Rigg, Martin Jarvis and Natascha McElhone.
Joining Brown and Rich, David Rintoul plays Baby’s father Dr. Jake Houseman, Issy Van Randwick takes on the role of Baby’s mother Majorie, while Isabella Calthorpe is Baby’s sister Lisa, and Nadia Coote plays Perry.
The cast in James Powell’s production also includes Nigel Williams as Max Kellerman, Rae Baker as Vivian, while Billy Boyle plays Mr. Schumacher. Jason Griffiths takes on the role of Moe Pressman, Richard Lloyd King plays Tito, Ben Mingay is Billy, Richard O’Brien plays Bobbie, Brian Saccente is Stan and Ursula Smith plays Mrs Schumacher.
For the musical, writer Eleanor Bergstein has stayed loyal to her own movie script, setting the action in an American holiday camp during the 1960's.
For more on Dirty Dancing, which is booking until October 2007, call (0)870 400 0805.
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