|
|
|
|
|
Dancing down a familiar path
Hungry Eyes: Baby, Jill Wintermitz, and Johnny, Paul-Michael Jones. Pictures: Alastair Muir Dirty Dancing Birmingham Hippodrome ***** WHEN it comes to having the time of your
life producer Karl Sydow seems to have found the answer, as far as
audiences are concerned, with this king-size slice of feel-good theatre. The stage version of the original low-budget film
is a real crowd pleaser with iconic moments from the original 1987 film
bringing gasps and cheers from an enthusiastic audience – or at least
all the women, after all this is still a bit of a chick-flick and no
doubt embedded deep in girls' night out territory. It was the film that made the late Patrick
Swayze a star as the troubled mountain resort hotel dance teacher from
the wrong side of the tracks and it was the film that made it cool for
blokes to dance. And Paul-Michael Jones is a tribute to that legacy as Johnny Castle, the tall, dark and handsome teacher, lovely mover and rough diamond. His CV includes representing England in the World Championships in Singapore in Latin and Ballroom dancing, so he doesn't disappoint in the dance department or, from the reaction of the ladies in the audience, in other departments either. Into his life comes Frances ‘Baby' Houseman,
played with a nice touch of vulnerability by American actress Jill
Wintermitz who only took on the role when the show reached Birmingham
but looks as if she has played it for years. Baby, on holiday with her parents and sister, has that teenage yearning to save the world, so becomes embroiled in the staff drama at the upmarket family hotel in the Catskills in New York when she helps out Johnny's dance partner Penny, played by Nicky Griffiths She has been in the tour since the start but only took on the challenging role of Penny last week. The challenge is looking like a professional
dancer – and after Strictly Come Dancing isn't everyone now an expert
judge? – and she doesn't fail on that score or any other for that
matter, bucking up the interest of husbands and boyfriends in the
audience no end.
Baby's attempts to help bring her into conflict with her father Dr Jake Houseman played with quite authority by James Coombes. He is probably the most famous member of the cast
by far – except if he doesn't dress in black and swing down on a rope
from the dress circle to deliver a box of chocs to a woman in the front
row just because she loves them . . . you probably wouldn't recognise
him. He was the Milk Tray Man of the 1980s. Meanwhile back at Kellerman's hotel and our tale
of that first teenage romance where Johnny is being accused of
everything from being a gigolo to theft as his troubles mount and he
even clashes with the super nerdy, ultra weedy, Neil Kellerman, nephew
of the resort owner Max (Michael Remick). Nerdy Neil, saved from bullies
by Johnny, still likes to throw his Uncles weight around to tell Johnny
who is boss. Neil is played by Stefan Menaul, another newcomer
and not just to the part; this is his first professional role and he
tweeted before the show that he was both excited and nervous about his
first ever Press night. Poor lad; he needn't have worried – like a duck
to water springs to mind and his awkward dancing was a little comic gem.
No one would ever have known he was a newbie. As for awkward . . . Baby's sister Lisa,
played by Emilia Williams, takes the prize for her rendition of Hula for
the hotel talent show. Singing badly with exaggerated arm gestures is
easy, plenty of people do it quite naturally as can be seen in any
karaoke bar, but to sing that badly with gestures that bizarre takes
real talent; she is very funny. It was in contrast to some fine singing of 60's
classics from the likes of Colin Charles playing Tito Suarez, who has a
hint of Nat King Cole about his dulcet tones, and Wayne Smith as
Johnny's brother Billy who also shows a fine voice. The lively ensemble are a class singing and
dancing act in their own right driving the story along at a cracking
pace all helped by an impressive lighting design from Tim Mitchell and
an awesome set designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis. Sliding shutters and a revolving stage make scene
changes instant and seamless aided by huge video screens and
stage-sized back.
It is expensive, effective and I suspect has
technicians sitting with white knuckles and fingers crossed each time
the curtain goes up. The video creations from Jon Driscoll takes the
use of video on stage to a new level producing forests, a holiday camp,
hotel grounds, a night club and even a lake with an impressive
interpretation of the iconic film scene where Johnny and Baby practice
lifts in the water. It works well, particularly as this is the
faithful stage version of a much-loved film, and makes the whole thing
slick and fast paced helped by direction from Sarah Tipple and
impressive choreography from Kate Champion. While we are at it the costumes from Jennifer Irwin were spot on - speaking as one who was around in 1963 when the musical is set, and who remembers not just the fashion but the old fashioned morality of a more innocent time displayed at Kellermans. If there was a fault the sound took a few minutes
to balance at the start but whatever the problems they were quickly
cured and still on sound the seven-piece band, perched on a shelf at the
back of the stage, under Musical Director Tom Deering were magnificent. So what did we learn? Well guys who are off to Ivy League colleges are not always nice and guys from the bad parts of town are not always nasty, while things are not always what they seem; truth will always out and love always wins through in the end to the cheers of all the women in the audience who, as one, went into raptures as Johnny stormed through the audience to the stage to declare the immortal line "nobody puts Baby in a corner". All leather and shades he drag her out of said
corner followed by the first strains of (I've had) The Time of My
Life to signal the finale and that much practised, can-she can't-she
lift. Cue cheers and obligatory standing ovation. Despite it being a chick-flick even guys will
find Dirty Dancing gets to them. It delivers everything it promised
- Dirty Dancing, live on stage. What more could you ask? To 25-08-12. Roger Clarke
|
|
|
|
