Lead Casting Announced for West End Dirty Dancing Musical

The lead roles of Johnny Castle and Frances "Baby" Houseman have been cast for the upcoming West End musical Dirty Dancing, according to London Theatre Guide.

Based on of the most popular movies of the '80s, Dirty Dancing will premiere at the Aldwych Theatre on September 29th, 2006, and open on October 24th. The musical, which will be directed by James Powell, is booked through April 7th.

Georgina Rich, a RADA graduate who has appeared on the West End in Honour, will take the role of teenager Baby, who while attending a holiday camp, falls for a hunky dance instructor. Dancer Josef Brown, who created the role of Johnny in the previous Australian production of Dirty Dancing, will once again play that role. Brown played opposite Kym Valentine in the musical, which toured after premiering in Sydney in 2004.

The film's screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein has signed on to write Dirty Dancing's libretto. The 1987 movie smash, directed by Emile Ardolino and starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, featured a variety of '60s musical hits, such as "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Hungry Eyes," and "Do You Love Me?"

"The show stays faithful to the original story but includes more scenes about Baby's parents, the political period and the character of Neil, who pursues Baby," according to the article. Dirty Dancing will also retain many of the numbers from the film. It will be choreographed by Kate Champion, with set design by Stephen Brimson-Lewis and musical supervision by Conrad Helfrich.

More casting has yet to be announced.

Visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk for tickets.