For fans of the 1987 low-budget film, “Dirty Dancing,” now there’s a musical to recreate all those glorious scenes of love in the Catskills. Actually, the musical has been kicking its way around the globe for decades. It has played in Los Angeles and Chicago in addition to long runs in Australia, London and throughout the UK. What theatergoers will find is that very little has been added to the musical from what the film had to offer.
Those who weren’t charmed by the film won’t stand up and cheer for the musical, either, aside from its fantastic dance numbers. The film starred Jennifer Grey (daughter of Joel Grey) and the late Patrick Swayze. The musical features Gillian Abbot and Christopher Tierney in the Baby/Johnny roles.
In an endless stream of flat dialogue, the couple basically mimics the film’s script—not surprising, perhaps, because the same woman wrote both the film script and the libretto. The highlight of this musical (as was true in the film) is a final dance number to the Oscar-winning song, “I’ve had the Time of My Life.” The song is a bittersweet reminder of the forbidden passion between a sheltered teen who allows herself to be called Baby. She travels to a Catskill Resort with her family for their annual vacation. She is mesmerized by Johnny, one of the employees. Such fraternization is forbidden by the owner, Max Kellerman (Garry Lynch), who tries to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere in 1963. Their romance must be conducted in secret. Johnny and his professional dance partner entertain guests during a nightly floor show. However, in addition to giving dance lessons to the guests during the day, women and their complicit husbands also hand Johnny money for “private” lessons at night. Johnny isn’t crazy about the arrangement, but he needs the money to survive. We learn that Penny, Johnny’s partner, (Jenny Wilson) is a pal from the same neighborhood. Their friendship goes back many years, and Johnny has taken on the role of being Penny’s protector. In addition to Baby, the Houseman family also includes dad, a physician (Mark Elliott Wilson), a stay-at-home mom (Margot White), and a big sis (Alex Scolari). Dad plays golf while mom and the kids endure a sequence of idiotic “entertainment” such as playing games of “Simon says,” or entering the gin rummy tournament. Yes, they also play croquet and throw horseshoes. From the opening scene, however, Baby has a feeling that this summer is going to be different. She is in her bed at home, thinking about the future, while all around her are a dozen young, sinewy bodies going through dance moves that nearly reek of sex. Dirty Dancing is to be commended for approaching a hot-topic issue such as abortion. This subject is introduced as a natural extension of the story, when one of the dancers gets “knocked up.” However, when the musical tackles civil rights and Vietnam, also issues from the same era, it seems very forced. A number of the college students who serve as waiters and walkers at the resort plan to become Freedom Fighters when the summer ends. Baby, who already has expressed an interest in working after college in the Peace Corps, is delighted to hear of their bravery. Her wimpy, would-be boyfriend (played by Ryan Jesse), eventually changes his mind about joining them. Not that Baby paid him much attention, anyway, once she got a good look at Johnny. To its credit, Dirty Dancing uses popular tunes from the late 1950s and 60s as an excuse for dancing, dancing and more dancing. These songs include: “Hungry Eyes,” “Do You Love Me?,” and “In the Still of the Night.” One of the best non-dancing numbers to one of these favorite songs is the sequence in which Baby must learn Penny’s dance moves. Her dance lessons are conducted over a series of days, all covered by the song, “Wipe Out.” Even on the night of her big dance number at one of the neighboring resorts, Baby is still unsure of her ability to pull it off. Once she wins Johnny’s heart, however, all the dance moves seem to fall magically into place.
Given much of the wooden dialogue that takes place in Dirty Dancing, the 25-member, non-Equity cast obviously has been chosen for its dancing talent. As for the leads, Baby and Johnny do spark enough chemistry to be convincing. Christopher Tierney is certainly buff enough for the part, and his dancing is superb. Ditto for Jenny Winton as his professional dance partner. Much of the show’s music is recorded, although a very small orchestra is located on an onstage platform. Soloists Jennlee Shallow and John Antony display an impressive singing range. The show’s odd set is a combination of the ramshackle and state-of-the art. A series of large, worn wooden shutters go up and down to display different parts of the set. They provide a rustic element to the slick projections behind them. Although some of the gorgeous scenery depicted in the projections is lovely to watch, the effect does wear thin after the first act.
