'Dirty Dancing' - Dance: 10, Act: 3

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage

By Eleanor Bergstein

Director James Powell

Choreographer Kate Champion, Music Supervisor Conrad Helfrich, Set Design Stephen Brimson Lewis, Lighting Design Tim Mitchell, Costume Design Jennifer Irwin, Video & Projection Design Jon Driscoll, Sound Design Bobby Aitken, Latin & Ballroom Dance Choreographer Craig Wilson, Music Director Martyn Axe

CAST: Frances "Baby" Houseman, Amanda Leigh Cobb; Johnny Castle, Josef Brown; Penny Johnson, Britta Lazenga; Dr. Jake Houseman, John Bolger; Lisa  Houseman, Katlyn Carlson; Marjorie Houseman, Kaitlin Hopkins; Vivian Pressman, Molly C. Callinan; Robbie Gould, Ryan Farrell; Billy Kostecki, Ben Mingay; Max Kellerman, Jonathan Epstein; Neil Kellerman, Adam Overett

Performances through April 12 at The Boston Opera House

Tickets available at The Colonial Theatre Box Office, 106 Boylston Street, Boston

Ticketmaster 1-800-982-2787, Ticketmaster outlets, www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com

Fasten your seat belts for a wild ride at The Boston Opera House as Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage is in town for only nine weeks. The pre-Broadway East Coast premiere of the international phenomenon is everything fans of the 1987 pic hope it will be and more, with colorful costumes, sultry swinging dances, additional songs, and the iconic, romantic all-American love story between "Baby" and Johnny. From the throbbing drum beat of the opening montage to the whirling ecstasy of the finale, when the music is blasting and the feet are flying, Dirty Dancing is grand entertainment, but it's a different story when the dancers stop to talk.

Admittedly, the music and dancing are the raisons d'être of this production, but there are personalities to develop and a story to tell. Although many audience members hootEd Loudly at memorable lines, the characters are like Disney audioanimatrons with little depth or breadth - they are the people you saw on the big screen, only smaller. Re-imagined for the stage by the original screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein, the result feels more like a screenplay than a live play as rapid cuts from one scene to the next leave little time to convey emotion or for the audience to absorb it. The book succeeds in following the movie closely, but it repeatedly deflates the passion and excitement that burst forth from the musical segments.

For the few readers who might be unfamiliar with the story, 17-year old Frances "Baby" Houseman and her family are spending their summer vacation in 1963 at Kellerman's, a resort in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Uninterested in the myriad activities, "Baby" gravitates toward the staff quarters and the mesmerizing after-hours dance parties led by the resort's dance instructors Johnny Castle and Penny Johnson. When Penny gets in trouble, "Baby" helps out by taking her place for a dance gig with Johnny, as well as getting Penny the money she needs to take care of her problem. As the routine of Kellerman's swirls around them, "Baby" and Johnny fall in love and learn from each other how to meet the challenges of their different worlds. It is a coming of age tale with life lessons for parents and child alike.

Set in a time before the assassination of JFK, Vietnam, and Watergate, the innocence and simplicity are interrupted only by the burgeoning awareness of the Civil Rights movement in the south. Bergstein assigns Kellerman's grandson Neil the task of introducing the subject by volunteering to go to Mississippi with the Freedom Riders. Apparently added to the play to provide a little gravitas, it is given short shrift and ends up being merely a distraction. [**SPOILER**] Even Penny's botched abortion only hints at the issue of backroom butchers that were, unfortunately, more the norm in the pre-Roe v. Wade era, a missed opportunity to flesh out how everyone involved really felt about those circumstances.

When Johnny (Josef Brown) and Penny (Britta Lazenga) take center stage for their Mambo number early in the first act, the only appropriate response is a breathless "Wow!" With his hip-hugging black slacks and her red dance dress accentuating their impossibly toned bodies, they move crisply and fluidly as one, creating amazing angles and lines when she extends her leg above his head or he tilts her dramatically toward the floor. It is only the first of many exciting routines that show off the awesome talents of these two dancers. They rightfully command our attention, but the ensemble of young chorus boys and girls keeps pace with them with artistry and energy through 55 songs and 73 scene changes.

Amanda Leigh Cobb, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Jennifer Gray, is an amiable "Baby" and stands out as one of the better actors in the troupe. Her dancing is first class, but does not reach the stratospheric heights of Brown and Lazenga, although it may not be fair to compare. Conversely, Brown's emoting is no match for Cobb's and the supposed love connection between them suffers for it. Still, as soon as his hips rev up, you can understand the attraction.

The company is divided into two camps: dancers or vocalists. Two of the latter snare the prize of singing the song most associated with the film, (I've Had) The Time Of My Life for the finale. Ben Mingay, who also plays the role of Billy Kostecki, and Aspen Vincent give it all they've got and, just for a moment, I thought it might actually be Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes harmonizing on the bridge atop the set. Mingay's voice has depth and a tinge of gruffness and Vincent matches him with power and emotion.

It is impossible to mention every member of the cast, but several are deserving of praise. Molly C. Callinan's sultry appearance and equally seductive voice brand Vivian Pressman as the femme fatale; Ryan Farrell is deliciously unctuous as the Houseman's waiter and self-styled Casanova; Massachusetts native Jonathan Epstein takes command as the congenial owner of Kellerman's; and Katlyn Carlson is both suitably annoying and sympathetic as the insecure big sister. There is genuine warmth within the Houseman family, between "Baby" and her father Jake (John Bolger), Jake and Marjorie (Kaitlin Hopkins), and even in a few moments between the sisters, which lends authenticity to their being shattered by what transpires. Bolger gets the chance to show off his acting chops in the denouement, but Hopkins is underutilized, having to work hard to overcome the straitjacket of the '60s mom role.

While the music, storyline, cultural sensibility, costumes, and props all take us back to 1963, the technical aspects of Dirty Dancing are entirely 21^st century. Changes of scene are projected on LED video panels upstage center and on both sides, representing numerous resort locales, such as the golf course, swimming pool, campfire in the woods, and staff quarters. When Johnny and "Baby" go out in his car, the road flashes by on the screen, and video of a torrential downpour puts a damper on the activities, but nobody gets wet. It is an impressive system that is visually stimulating, yet further tethers the production to the movie. Thanks to the live musicians under the direction of Martyn Axe, the show is aurally stimulating, as well.  Special kudos to the saxophone players who back Mingay on a stunning rendition of In The Still Of The Night. A regrettable aspect of the theatre Zeitgeist includes an excess of amplification for the musical numbers, while some of the spoken lines are lost in the shuffle despite individual mics. 

There is no denying that the movie Dirty Dancing is legendary. It was the fifth highest-grossing film of 1987 and the original soundtrack has sold over 44 million copies. The stage show has productions running in London, The Netherlands, Hamburg, and Toronto, and the tour heads to Los Angeles after the Boston engagement, with Broadway in its sights. There seems to be an audience for it and, like the jukebox musicals before it, it gives them what they want. These days it feels pretty good to take a look back to a simpler time, when you could dance your troubles away.

Photo: Britta Lazenga, Josef Brown "Johnny's Mambo" by David Scheinmann 2008

 

  

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

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