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A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
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Dirty Dancing is one of my all-time favourite movies so I’m always a bit worried another version of it comes along, we will not mention the sequel movie Havana Nights which I have the DVD of and can assure you I will never write a review for! Anyway moving on, I was very excited to see that a stage show version was coming back to Aberdeen. I did see it when it was here 11 years ago, my Facebook Memory assures me every year that I had the time of my life, most fitting of course. I cannot say I had any less of a good time this evening.
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Although there were no “big names” in this production, the standard of acting, singing and dancing was very high throughout. Obviously Baby, played by Kira Malou, was not very good at dancing to start with, and by the end was an absolute superstar and managed that lift with no apparent effort. No, that is not a spoiler, we have all seen the movie or at least that clip!It is always a worry when something moves from one medium to another; you wonder how it will transfer across. There were still all the wonderful lines “I carried a watermelon” and “nobody puts baby in a corner”.
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There were shouts of joy from the girls when the Patrick Swayze character, Johnny, walks onto the stage. Played by Michael O’ Reilly he also got cheers when he took his shirt off. I did get a touch emotional at someone taking Patrick Swayze’s place, as he very much owned that role but the actor did a very good job, although his accent was perhaps a little forced. Michael O’Reilly sang and danced amazingly, and took wonderful care of Penny, played by Georgia Aspinall, as of course he should. The lack of She’s Like the Wind was noticeable, but most appropriate as Swayze is well known to have sung that song himself in the movie and it would not be right to try and replicate this.
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The set design is very clever moving from the inside of a cabin, to the lake side, to the dancehall, to the staff quarters with just a few movements. The log scene and lift in the lake were also cleverly done. Certain expectations need met from an audience that obviously loved the movie and were waiting for key iconic moments, and they were all done wonderfully.
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Unsure of how many times I have seen the movie since it came out in 1987, I still know much of the script and was saying the lines in my head throughout the performance. There was one section which was noticeably different about Neil Kellerman, played by Christian James, going on a Freedom Rise with some of the busboys. It was unclear why this differed from the movie, but obviously not everything makes a direct transition to stage, or through the years.
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Interestingly last night I saw the Bootleg Beatles talking about the Vietnam War and how we still have conflict in the world that many people do not support, similarly to in Dirty Dancing there was a theme of Baby trying to heal the world, which still needs fixed all these years later.
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However the key theme of this production was the power of dance, and love. Both were very well portrayed, the choreography by Austin Wilks was superb. It was not just Baby and Johnny that had the time of their Iives!
Further information: https://dirtydancingonstage.co.uk/uk-and-ireland/tour-dates/
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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