Nostalgia brought the Palace Theatre to life through the skirt-lifting, tight-jean wearing fervour of Dirty Dancing.
The iconic film, which captures the American Sixties heyday through the lens of Eighties nostalgia, saw women of all ages gather for the eagerly anticipated 2016/7 onstage tour.
Katy Hartland, an incredible likeness to
Jennifer Grey's Baby, took to the stage to open a performance that brings the classic film to an audience that knows and loves it well. As her protagonist is drawn into the heady underground of hormonal handstands and cha cha-inducing cartwheels, the audience enters the lustful world of dirty dancing, a flash of a skirt and a rippling bicep away from being R-rated.
Although Hartland makes for a pleasing protagonist, it's Lewis Griffith's Johnny and
Carlie Milner's Penny who gift the audience with the star performances. The pair's charisma and skill as dancers - for no one in the show ever stops dancing - creates the heated energy that makes this staple so very heady and intoxicating.
As the performance connected romance to romance, the audience were gifted with spirited routines to the likes of "Do You Love Me" and "Hey Baby", to name but a few. A clear investment in making the array of dancing scenes so flawless and engaging should come with a big nod to Russ Spencer and his team.
Andrea Comotti and the gang at Wellington Scenic should also be applauded for bringing Kellerman's to life. The sophisticated set offers vivid technicolor and made for swift, sophisticated scene changes. Although the lewd holograms of fallen trees and flowing rivers might have raised an eyebrow in another production, they fitted the cheesy nostalgia of this one.
Depending on your mood, Dr and Mrs Houseman (Julian Harries and Simone Craddock) can rile or satisfy. The saccharine-fuelled couple's dependable, yet admirably romantic relationship meant that the pair were sometimes left carrying a stock phrase too far in order to persuade the outside world of their undying affection.
Even though there was more than a distinct nod to the production's demands for racial equality and a more fluid field of opportunity for America's youth, the somewhat stale motifs of the boyfriend vs. father stand-off felt slightly tiresome and overwrought for a modern audience. Billy and Elizabeth's solo renditions veered into cabaret (Billy Kostecki and Daniela Pobega respectively), but they were well received by the eager crowd who roared in applause at the end of their ballads.
Although Act II appeared to be padded out with verbose ballads and a heck of a lot of lingering stares, the cheese factor that makes the denouement so special was still very much in place. As Johnny ran through the aisle to have his one last dance with Baby, the audience roared with applause, singing along to "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" as the pair whizzed through a lift-laden, impressive sequence of moves.
Would you have "The Time Of Your Life?" If you're after a feel-good rendition of the original that sticks almost identically to the script, then put your name down. This version of
Dirty Dancing isn't out to win over a new audience, but it certainly appears to have satisfied its loyal one.
Dirty Dancing is currently booking until August 2017. See full venues and dates here
Read our interview with Lewis Griffiths
Photo credit: Alastair Muir
