Dirty Dancing

2
The great musical film touring again
By Robert Iles - 20th Mar 2014

Dirty Dancing on tour 2014Billed as "The Classic Story on Stage" that is exactly what you get; the film re-enacted. This is both a good and a bad thing.

The good thing is that it seems to be what the audience is expecting. They whoop and holler at the topless men, shout "Go Patrick" when he comes back to dance at the end (the actor was called Lewis and the character Johnny but the audience had the film firmly in their minds) and applaud loudly when we get the lift and the "nobody puts baby in a corner" line. 

The bad thing is that, frankly, by slavishly following the film the show adds nothing to the story, characters or experience. This is now a stage show based on a film but the film on stage and as such it requires really, really hard work to make it work - and you can guess from the 2* review that it just didn't. When this tour was fresh, the last time it came to Bristol, I gave it 4* - there was chemistry and energy and a feeling of enthusiasm in cast and audience. This time it just felt a bit flat. 

The singing is excellent and the dancing pretty good too but the direction and staging seems a bit tired and it just didn't come screaming over the footlights to bowl us over. Roseanna Frascona makes a very credible Baby and there were nice touches from some other cast members like Colin Charles but overall I saw effort but not commitment. This is also a show with a plot (all be it a little weak) and it is hard to carry it with "musical theatre" acting, to really make us care about freedom riders and the integrated holiday camp, backstreet abortions and class differentials needs more than just a nice voice and a pointed toe.

Sorry, this just didn't cut it for me though I could see that it suited large sections of the "outings" audience who just wanted some frivolous nostalgia with occasional glimpses of male torso ... you pays your money and takes your pick ....

 


Latest News & Reviews

28th Mar 24 :: Review: The Wizard of Oz
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
4
27th Mar 24 :: Critics Circle Awards
The winners of this year's Critics' Circle Theatre Awards have been announced.
22nd Mar 24 :: Review: The Motive and the Cue
Live broadcast seen at the Regal Cinema, Wadebridge.
5
12th Mar 24 :: Review: Macbeth
English Touring Theatre (ETT) production seen in Worthing,
3
7th Mar 24 :: Review: The Life of Pi
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
5
6th Mar 24 :: Review: And Then There Were None
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
2
5th Mar 24 :: Review: Musclebound
Seen at The Front Room, Weston-super-Mare
3
2nd Mar 24 :: Review: Marry Me A Little
Seen at The Stage Door Theatre, Drury Lane
2
28th Feb 24 :: Review: Cable Street
Seen at the Southwark Playhouse, Borough.
3
28th Feb 24 :: Review: Carlos Acosta - On Before
Seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
4
26th Feb 24 :: Offies Winners 2024
WInners of the Offies 2024 awards have been announced.
15th Feb 24 :: Review: The Drifters Girl
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
4
12th Feb 24 :: Review: Whatsonstage Awards Winners
The winners of the Whatsonstage Awards announced.
0
6th Feb 24 :: Review: Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Selected dates until 26 February at the Coach and Horses, 29 Greek Street, London W1D 5DH
4
5th Feb 24 :: Review: Macbeth
David Tennant and Cush Jumbo at the Donmar Warehouse
4
20th Jan 24 :: Review: Disney's Aladdin
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
4
19th Jan 24 :: Review: Alegria - Cirque du Soleil
The latest production seen at the Royal Albert Hall
3
20th Dec 23 :: Review: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Pantomime seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
4
18th Dec 23 :: Review: Sleeping Beauty
Panto at the Pavilion Theatre, Worthing.
4
13th Dec 23 :: Review: A Christmas Carol
Guy Masterson's one-man production seen in Boscastle
5

Most Popular Stories

Viewings over the last 10 days
 
Birmingham Royal Ballet - Black Sabbath
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Posted 13th Oct 23 :: 146 views
And Then There Were None
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Posted 6th Mar 24 :: 114 views
The Life of Pi
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
Posted 7th Mar 24 :: 108 views
The Motive and the Cue
Live broadcast seen at the Regal Cinema, Wadebridge.
Posted 22nd Mar 24 :: 106 views
Cable Street
Seen at the Southwark Playhouse, Borough.
Posted 28th Feb 24 :: 100 views
Musclebound
Seen at The Front Room, Weston-super-Mare
Posted 5th Mar 24 :: 95 views
The Drifters Girl
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Posted 15th Feb 24 :: 89 views
Macbeth
English Touring Theatre (ETT) production seen in Worthing,
Posted 12th Mar 24 :: 86 views
Carlos Acosta - On Before
Seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
Posted 28th Feb 24 :: 72 views
The Wizard of Oz
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Posted 28th Mar 24 :: 65 views


Listings powered by Dynamic Listing Ltd
Mastodon X - Twitter Multidomain certificate installed
© Dynamic Listing Ltd, UK. 1995-2024