Doug Carpenter News

Christopher Tierney assumes the iconic role of Johnny Castle tonight in the North American tour of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage as it opens tonight at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, where it will continue through August 30. This marks the launch of the second year of the hugely successful national tour which will go on to play markets including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Nashville, Des Moines and Denver this season. A list of full tour dates can be found here.

Dirty Dancing is essentially a stage tribute to the film from which its based, which is evident from the dialogue as it's taken almost verbatim from the movie. As are the iconic songs - even though only a fraction of the performers actually sing. Those actors that do sing are not main characters, which is even more of a shame since so many of the performers (Gillian Abbott and Samuel Pergande as Baby and Johnny respectively) have backgrounds in voice. The fact that the main characters do not even utter a single note is baffling to anyone who is familiar with musical theatre.

The Smith Center announced today that individual tickets for the Las Vegas premiere of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage will go on sale today, May 22 at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at The Smith Center Box Office, located at 361 Symphony Park Avenue, by phone at 702-749-2000 or 808-326-6868 (TTY) and online at www.TheSmithCenter.com. For preferred seating and special rates for groups of 10 or more, contact 702-749-2348. The staged musical of this worldwide smash-hit film will play Reynolds Hall July 14-19, 2015.

The Smith Center announced today that individual tickets for the Las Vegas premiere of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage will go on sale Friday, May 22 at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at The Smith Center Box Office, located at 361 Symphony Park Avenue, by phone at 702-749-2000 or 808-326-6868 (TTY) and online at www.TheSmithCenter.com. For preferred seating and special rates for groups of 10 or more, contact 702-749-2348. The staged musical of this worldwide smash-hit film will play Reynolds Hall July 14-19, 2015.

Audience has 'the time of their lives' with performance of DIRTY DANCE at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theater

'I carried a watermelon!', one of the most memorable lines from the classic love story Dirty Dancing, is brought to life on stage in the wildly fun production currently touring North America. For those who have been living under a rock since 1987 or have somehow deprived themselves from enjoying this beloved film, Dirty Dancing is the coming-of-age story of Frances 'Baby' Houseman told over the course of the summer of 1963. On a family vacation at an extravagant summer resort called Kellerman's in her last summer before attending college and living out her dreams of joining the Peace Corps and changing the world, Baby meets resident bad boy dance instructor Johnny Castle and their whirlwind romance is exciting, inspiring, and unforgettable.

In a record-breaking year for the number of prizes and total cash awarded, Lauren Michelle, of Los Angeles, won the $15,000 First Prize in the finals of the 2015 Lotte Lenya Competition, sponsored by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music and held on April 18, 2015, in Kilbourn Hall of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Robin Bailey, of London, U.K., and Jordan Davidson, of Philadelphia, N.Y., both won Second Prizes of $10,000, and two Third Prizes of $7,500 each were awarded to Adam Fieldson, of Lincoln, Neb., and Michael Maliakel, of New York.

Gillian Abbott recently assumed the iconic role of Frances 'Baby' Houseman in the North American tour of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage. Check out a first look at Abbott in the production bleow!

Fourteen exceptionally talented singer-actors from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany have been selected as finalists in the 2015 Lotte Lenya Competition, held annually by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. They will compete for top prizes of $15,000, $10,000 and $7,500 on Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Rochester, New York.

Gillian Abbott assumes the iconic role of Frances "Baby" Houseman tonight in the North American tour of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage. Abbott joins the production as it begins performances at the Connor Palace at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, where it will continue through March 22.

Of the multitude of recent film-to-stage adaptations that have risen from the video dust bin to breathe new life in a different guise, the stage version of DIRTY DANCING---whose first national tour is now gyrating inside Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 15---is by far one of the oddest, most peculiar ones of the bunch. Though it's not difficult to believe that this ad-hoc concoction has actually been a hit both in Australia and in the UK (they have the original 1987 film's nostalgia-hungry fans to thank for that, no doubt), it's a bit alarming to think that such an awkward head-scratcher has continued life in its current, somewhat off-putting format: as a show paved with good intentions---but executed poorly. Cool projections, though!

Not since 'Flashdance' has a more ill conceived, and forced 80's movie turned stage show been forced upon the unsuspecting theater goers in Seattle. But unlike 'Flashdance', in 'Dirty Dancing' currently playing at the Paramount there weren't quite as many WTF moments to make it somewhat entertaining (in a train wreck kind of way). So what we were left with, save two stunning performances which we will get to in a minute, was a severe lack of storytelling, choreography and acting making this show not a train wreck but just plain bad.

The Classic Story On Stage, an unprecedented live experience exploding with heart-pounding music, passionate romance and sensational dancing, will play at Sacramento Community Center Theater from December 26, 2014 - January 4, 2015. Based on the tremendously popular classic 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage is part of the Broadway Sacramento series presented by California Musical Theatre. Performance times vary; for information visit BroadwaySacramento.com.

The new musical Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, with music, lyrics, and book by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs, will receive two invitation only industry presentations on Monday, December 8, 2014 at New World Stages (340 W 50th Street) in New York City.

Fans of the beloved movie rejoice as Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage comes to Atlanta's Fox Theatre. Filled with the hit songs and recognizable dance moves from the movie, this stage adaptation does not disappoint.

DIRTY DANCING made its way to Houston this week. Billed as DIRTY DANCING: The Classic Story On Stage, it is no surprise that it joins the ranks of popular films turned into musicals. Based on the 1987 film that became a cult sensation, DIRTY DANCING is the story of a coming of age.

If you follow the theatre scene of Austin, Texas at all, then you've most likely seen or heard something related to Dirty Dancing the Musical at Bass Concert Hall. The signage, the posters, the advertisements, even the ticket listings bill the production as a musical. As a part of Lexus' Broadway in Austin, it isn't far-fetched to assume the production, much like Legally Blonde the Musical or Once, is a musical version of the popular film. Which is why, after seeing the production's Austin opening, I took myself back to the internet to scour the details of the show.

The Fabulous Fox Theatre has announced that the national tour of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage will play at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis today, October 21 - November 2, 2014.

Just in case Jillian Mueller needs a new dance partner on the DIRTY DANCING: THE MUSICAL tour, I think we've found one. While he's not as tall as Samuel Pergande, he sure has the moves. In a Facebook post, 'Laine Kristina' posted a video of her son Charlie reenacting every move of the iconic routine to '(I've Had) The Time of My Life.'

DIRTY DANCING - THE CLASSIC STORY ON STAGE will play at Jacksonville's Times-Union Center's Moran Theater from Tuesday, December 9th through Sunday, December 14th for eight performances only. Tickets for DIRTY DANCING - THE CLASSIC STORY ON STAGE go on sale Friday, October 10th at 10AM through the FSCJ Artist Series, sponsored by Chase, the official presenter of the Jacksonville show.