BWW Reviews: DIRTY DANCING at Lyric Theatre

Dirty Dancing has returned to Sydney, where the magic began, as part of it's 10th Anniversary Australian Tour. The international hit musical, produced byJohn Frost opened at the Sydney Lyric Theatre on December 3rd to a standing ovation and lots of laughter and cheers

The show's story originated, of course, in the 1987 film of the same title that was a huge success in it's own right."Nobody puts baby in the corner" has been referenced and parodied countless times around the world and whilst I have no statistical evidence, I am sure the movie helped watermelon sales around the world too. The tale of the complicated love affair of dance teacher Johnny Castle and the innocent young Frances "Baby" Houseman is as charming and engaging now as it was in the original film. The much loved film has been successfully translated into a much loved musical production.

The standout overall performance in this production is that of Kirby Burgess as Baby. Whilst this is her first lead role, Burgess is no stranger to the stage having been a cast member of the recent productions of Officer and a Gentleman, Hairspray The Musical, High School Musical- Live on Stage and Jekyll and Hyde. Burgess perfectly captures the youthful innocence and sweetness of Baby, you believe in her hope and ideals and you feel her emotional rollercoaster. My only complaint is that Baby and Johnny (Kurt Phelan) are not given a chance to sing in crucial moments as the singing is mostly left to support characters (who admittedly do a great job). It just felt occassionally as though something was lacking.

Besides the performance of Kirby Burgess there were three aspects of this production that I also want to single out for special praise; the incredible dancing of Nadia Coote, the attention stealing, amazing vocals of Mark Vincent that almost was so impressive I stopped watching the dancing just to watch him sing and the hilarious and creative approach to the log-balancing in the woods and lifting in the water scenes.

Dirty Dancing is the perfect night out on the town. You will laugh, you will likely sing along and you will be entertained from start to finish. This production is heading to Melbourne soon and is around for a strictly limited time only; do not miss out!

For tickets and more information: http://dirtydancingaustralia.com/tickets/tour-tickets/

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