Photos: Dirty Dancing Opens in London

Dirty Dancing officially opened last night, October 24th, at the West End's Aldwych Theatre in London. The musical is based on the 1987 film of the same name.  Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Joanna Lumley were among the starry arrivals.

Directed by James Powell, the possibly Broadway-bound show stars Georgina Rich (Honour on the West End) as Frances "Baby" Houseman, 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, once again plays that role. Brown played opposite Kym Valentine in the musical, which toured after premiering in Sydney in 2004.  Dirty Dancing, which was originally workshopped in New York in 2001, also received a smash production in Hamburg, Germany.The film's screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein has written 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 musical retains many numbers from the film. Visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk for tickets.

Photos by Retna Ltd.

Arrivals

Judi Dench

Judi Dench

Judi Dench

Judi Dench and Finity Williams

Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen

Graham Norton

Judi Dench and Graham Norton

Trisha Goddard

Jenni Falconer

Tamara Beckwith

Georgina Rich

Andrew Lloyd Webber and wife

Josef Brown and guest

Abi Titmuss

Linzi Stoppard

Joanna Lumley

Joanna Lumley

Issy Van Randwyck

Hofit Golan and Scott Henshall

Paula Wilcox

Brendan Cole

Liz Fuller

 

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