Spring Break
'Dirty Dancing' graces the stage
by Wei Huan Chen
Staff Writer
Arts | 3/3/09
Posted online at 6:58 PM EST on 3/2/09
/ Last updated at 3:51 AM EST on 3/2/09
It's hard to imagine how different seeing Dirty Dancing-The Classic Story on Stage is from watching the movie. On one hand, Eleanor Bergstein's adaption follows the movie very precisely-the script and soundtrack are almost identical and many cast members bear surprising resemblances to the players that appear in the movie. But there is something exciting about witnessing 10 professional dancers simultaneously hoist their legs atop their studly partners' shoulders in the fiery "Do You Love Me?" number that doesn't quite happen in the movie.
It's an exhilarating 1963 summer for Frances "Baby" Houseman, played by the charming Aspen Vincent (at the show I attended, she was substituting for Amanda Leigh Cobb, who usually plays the role). Baby's family had planned to visit the Catskills retreat for some relaxation, but Baby's agenda is waylaid when she meets Johnny Castle, played by Josef Brown, and is introduced to an entirely different world. Castle's dance partner, Penny Johnson, played by the sleek and gorgeous Britta Lazenga, is knocked up and is afraid that her pregnancy will ruin her and Castle's performance at the end of the weekend. In an attempt to save their routine, Baby becomes Castle's new dance partner and secretly sneaks off during the retreat to learn how to dance. However, her father, who dislikes Castle, discovers Baby's involvement. The lovestruck Baby fights against her parents' disapproval and begins her journey as a young woman in this tale of passion and defiance.
To me, though, the plot is trivial compared to the show's astounding dancing and unbelievable technical work. From the first scene, I was drawn in by the musical's presentation. The combination of varying scenes of song and dance strung together seamlessly by unnoticeably quick scene changes gives the stage a three dimensional effect that was never in the movie.
The result is complete immersion. For example, there is a section on the floor of the stage that rotates. Well-to-do lodgers sit and have light lunch, their tables moving with the platform as the retreat activities director walks slowly past them, keeping up with the platform's speed. The audience feels as if they are moving with the director, not unlike watching a moving frame of reference.
It's an exhilarating 1963 summer for Frances "Baby" Houseman, played by the charming Aspen Vincent (at the show I attended, she was substituting for Amanda Leigh Cobb, who usually plays the role). Baby's family had planned to visit the Catskills retreat for some relaxation, but Baby's agenda is waylaid when she meets Johnny Castle, played by Josef Brown, and is introduced to an entirely different world. Castle's dance partner, Penny Johnson, played by the sleek and gorgeous Britta Lazenga, is knocked up and is afraid that her pregnancy will ruin her and Castle's performance at the end of the weekend. In an attempt to save their routine, Baby becomes Castle's new dance partner and secretly sneaks off during the retreat to learn how to dance. However, her father, who dislikes Castle, discovers Baby's involvement. The lovestruck Baby fights against her parents' disapproval and begins her journey as a young woman in this tale of passion and defiance.
To me, though, the plot is trivial compared to the show's astounding dancing and unbelievable technical work. From the first scene, I was drawn in by the musical's presentation. The combination of varying scenes of song and dance strung together seamlessly by unnoticeably quick scene changes gives the stage a three dimensional effect that was never in the movie.
The result is complete immersion. For example, there is a section on the floor of the stage that rotates. Well-to-do lodgers sit and have light lunch, their tables moving with the platform as the retreat activities director walks slowly past them, keeping up with the platform's speed. The audience feels as if they are moving with the director, not unlike watching a moving frame of reference.
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