The National Tour Of DIRTY DANCING Comes To Harris Center Next Month

It was a smash hit of a film, and now the staged version of the classic story by Eleanor Bergstein comes to Stage One when Baby and Johnny, two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds, come together for what will be the most triumphant summer of their lives. Fusing music, romance and dancing while "oozing sex appeal" (Evening Standard), "it's impossible not to have fun" (Chicago Sun Times), with a live eight-piece band, all the familiar songs and that seductive tale in which "no one puts Baby in a corner."

Dirty Dancing-- The Classic Story On Stage comes to Harris Center for five shows: Thursday, October 5, 2017-- 7:30 pm; Friday, October 6-- 2 pm and 7:30 pm; Saturday, October 7; 2 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets are $49-$79; Premium $89; 10% Discount for Friday Matinee Single Tickets. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

It's the summer of 1963, and 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is on vacation in New York's Catskill Mountains with her older sister and parents. Mesmerized by the racy dance moves and pounding rhythms she discovers in the resort's staff quarters, Baby can't wait to be part of the scene, especially when she catches sight of Johnny Castle, the resort's sexy dance instructor. Passions ignite and Baby's life changes forever when she is thrown in to the deep end as Johnny's leading lady, both on-stage and off. "This crowd-pleasing stage adaptation hits the jackpot!" (London's Sunday Express).

"As I learned how many people watched the movie over and over and over," said Eleanor Bergstein, screenwriter of the film Dirty Dancing and book writer for the production, "I began to think that what they really wanted was to share more physically in the event, to step through the screen and be there while the story was happening. And if that was true, then its natural form was theatre - live audiences watching live bodies dancing and singing here and now in the present - on the log, on the bridge, on the dance floor and in the staff quarters at Kellerman's. Writing it for the stage, I was also able to add more Baby and Johnny scenes, more about the family, more songs I couldn't afford last time [in the film], and, best of all - more dancing. I have added 20 new original scenes, 36 numbers of live music and an eight piece band onstage, to invite the audience to come into Kellerman's and experience the story as a live event as it happens."

Featuring the hit songs "Hungry Eyes," "Hey Baby," "Do You Love Me?" and the heart-stopping "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life," Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage was first performed at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia in November 2004 before embarking upon a hugely successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. A new production opened at the Theater Neue Flora in Hamburg, Germany in March 2006 where it broke records for achieving the highest advance in European history. The show has gone on to perform across the world in markets as diverse as Utrecht, Holland, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Most recently, it has been represented by an UK tour (which launched March 2014 in Bristol), a German tour (which launched April 2014 in Berlin) and an Italian production (which launched October 2014 in Milan). The show returned to Australia with a new tour that premiered in late 2014 in honor of the stage production's 10th anniversary.

The production's book is written by Eleanor Bergstein and the North American tour will be directed by Sarna Lapine with choreography by Michele Lynch based on the original choreography by Kate Champion.

This Year Marks Seven Seasons of Great Shows. Up Close. In Folsom!

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences featuring the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts over 400 events attracting more than 150,000 annually.

Tickets are available online at www.HarrisCenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time.