THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE
Dirty Dancing
Sunderland Empire
Until Saturday
1st July 2017
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| Photo: Alistair Muir |
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| Photo: Alistair Muir |
Fans
of the 1987 classic movie will not be disappointed. This is not one of those
musicals in which you expect to see the film live on stage and they change the
music and the memorable parts of the dialogue. You want watermelons, you’ve got
it. You want sexy dancing, you’ve got it. You want to cheer when Baby’s
location in the corner is brought into question? This week’s show at Sunderland
Empire has got that too.
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| Photo: Alistair Muir |
It’s the summer of 1963,
and 17 year- old Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman is about to grow up on a
holiday she won’t forget. The holiday in New York’s Catskill Mountains with her older sister and parents will
involve more than a performance from her sister. Thanks to some personal dance
lessons she will find out there’s more to life, thanks to Johnny Castle.
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| Photo: Alistair Muir |
The script was written by Eleanor Bergstein, script writer of the 1987 film. The action
concentrates on the central pair of Baby (Katie Eccles) and Johnny (Lewis Griffiths)
whilst the other characters are very much on the periphery. Federico Bellone’s
direction keeps a very tight ship. This is helped, in no small part, by Roberto
Comotti’s set design that relies on three revolving stages in order to keep the
action running from scene to scene.
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| Photo: Alistair Muir |
The real selling point from my point of view was the
stunning choreography from Gillian Bruce. The dancing ensemble filled the stage
with a real positive energy. Carlie Milner pulls of some amazing sequences as
Johnny’s dance partner Penny Johnson.
Katie Eccles and Lewis Griffiths themselves are fabulous dancers. They
made the lifts in the final sequence look so easy which is a tribute to their
own talent and dedication.
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| Photo: Alistair Muir |
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| Photo: Alistair Muir |
It is difficult to describe this as a musical as such
though. Yes there is music - lots of it in fact - but it is mainly in the
background or there for the dancing. The handful of sung numbers, including (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, is
handled by just 4 singers. Jo Servi, when not playing piano, handles one early
number. Sophia MacKay gets a number of chances to show the power of her voice
whilst Michael Kent was in charge of a couple of crowd pleasers. Lizzie Ottley,
of course, as Baby’s sister Lisa gets a
number in the final scene. The
live music is delivered by up to 3 musicians on stage and drums of stage. Our
only niggle was that lack of a full live band on stage which seems to be a
missed opportunity.
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| Photo: Alistair Muir |
Dirty
Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage
is a real feel good show that concentrates on vibrant dance routines and the
memorable dialogue from the film. Whilst it isn’t going to deliver many surprises
to the fans of the film, the staging is very effective. There are a few nice
tricks during the dance training scenes. The music is there but we don’t get the
big solo numbers in which each principal character states their desires and
dreams. Perhaps it is refreshing because of that. We’ve seen a production of Dirty Dancing before but we prefer this
one - it is going to be a hit for the fans of the film.
Review by Stephen
Oliver
Tickets:
Tickets available from the Box Office on High Street
West, via the ticket centre 0844 871
3022* or www.atgtickets.com/sunderland *calls cost up to
7p per minute plus standard network charges. Booking and transaction fees may
apply to telephone and online bookings.
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