Dirty Dancing

Adelaide’s Dirty Dancing enthusiasts are turning up in excited droves to see the dance show that’s based on the iconic movie that starred the late Patrick Swayze.

Ten years after its world premiere in Sydney, the stage show remains a worldwide hit. It’s not deep and meaningful theatre and it’s not strictly a musical; in fact the stars of the show don’t sing and the plot is almost incidental to the main focus, the dance moves, but the fans on opening night loved it.

We relive the summer of 1963 as holidaying 17-year-old Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman defies her parents and learns about life, sex and dancing when she meets up with holiday resort dance instructor, Johnny Castle.

The slick dance moves and raunchy sexual energy between Kurt Phelan as Johnny and delightful Kirby Burgess as Baby has the audience pumping.  Burgess does extremely well in changing her character from sweet, ungainly teen into a sexy and adept dancer. However, the real standout performance in terms of dance comes from Maddie Peat as Penny Johnson.

Another audience favourite is Tegan Wouters as Baby’s sister Lisa. She gives a very fine comedic performance.

A sixties soundtrack supplies much of the music, though there is some live music, including with the show’s iconic song "(I’ve Had) The Time of my Life" sung by James D Smith and Anna Freeland.

Newly in the role of Billy Kostecki after previously understudying the role, James D Smith’s interpretation of "In The Still of The Night" is stunning.

The remaining cast is uniformly good and the themes from the movie are there for them to work with, but there is little depth in the dialogue to allow much development of character.

The set is towering, with video projection denoting changes in setting and ensuring quick transition from scene to scene. In one segment the two leads seem immersed in water, which along with other interactive elements with the video, is cleverly achieved.

Dirty Dancing may not be for everyone, but for the true believers it’s a fantastic night out.

Lesley Reed

Photographer: Jeff Busby