Matthew Murphy
Samuel Pergande as Johnny and Gillian Abbott as Baby.
The Overture Center is presenting Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage as part of its Broadway series, even though the show has never played Broadway in New York City. But the show proved extremely popular in runs in Australia and England and sold out international tours. Judging from the size and enthusiasm of the opening night audience at Overture on Tuesday, it will be embraced on its short run here too.
Dirty Dancing, which runs through Sunday, May 31, isn’t technically a musical. The lead characters don’t sing, and the show doesn’t feature big production numbers. Most of the singing is by Jennlee Shallow, Doug Carpenter and Paul Victor, who have big, powerful voices but play minor roles. Some of the music was pre-recorded, which feels more like a soundtrack accompanying the action rather than driving it.
Writer Eleanor Bergstein set out to create a precise replica of her much loved 1987 film starring Jennifer Grey as Baby Houseman, an entitled but plucky guest at a resort in the Catskills, and Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle, her brash but tender dance instructor. But in the stage version, Bergstein has included more dialogue and singing about civil rights and the growing unrest in Vietnam, which feels disingenuous when everything else is true to the original.
The show relies heavily on videos and images that are projected onto a background of huge, moveable white shutters. Sometimes this works to create a guest cottage or golf course, but other times it feels like an avant-garde art installation: In the scenes where Baby and Johnny are practicing their signature lift, they appear to be swallowed up by a faux field and lake.
Johnny (Samuel Pergande) is a smooth mover with a chiseled face and abs, but his acting is a bit forced. Jenny Winton shows impeccable technique (and killer legs) as his dance partner, Penny. Gillian Abbott plays Baby with just the right amount of self-righteous grit and endearing sincerity. It takes a great dancer to portray a not-so-good dancer who becomes a capable dancer, and the scenes where she practices her dance steps on her own are the most charming.
Dirty Dancing fans: You’ll get to hear most of the songs you loved from the movie. You will feel a rush of satisfaction when Johnny defiantly says “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” You’ll cheer when they get that lift right. But you may yearn for the late 1980s brand of early 1960s nostalgia and the unmatchable chemistry between Grey and Swayze.
