**** Highly Recommended If you loved Dirty Dancing, the 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, you will love Dirty Dancing: The Musical, playing at Broadway in Chicago’s Nederlander Theatre. The movie, with a few changes, has been transported to the stage. It was obvious that this audience loved the movie, since they greeted every iconic song/scene with cheers. I wish Dirty Dancing was playing for a month or two, then everyone could see it twice! I loved this show! 4 BIG Spotlights
This show resonates for me in a lot of ways. I graduated from high school in 1963. That summer I had a job working at a local swimming pool, and I was getting ready to go away to college. I loved rock n’ roll music, which my mom thought was a fad, and I was planning to go into the Peace Corps.
Blake Zelesnikar as Johnny Castle & Olivia Cece as Penny Johnson in Dirty Dancing. Photo provided.
You know the story – the Houseman family, Dr. Jake (Bryan Fenkart), his wife Marjorie (Gina Lamparella) and daughters Lisa (Lily Kren) and Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman (Annalese Starzec) spend three weeks at a resort in the Catskills owned by Jake’s good friend, Max Kellerman (Loren Lester).
Max has opinions. The waiters are good because they go to Ivy League schools. The entertainment staff are not to be trusted because they don’t. His nephew, Neil (Dan Klimko) who’s majoring in hospitality management, is the next generation of Kellerman’s. Baby, who’s exploring, overhears Max telling the waiters to chat up the guests, especially their daughters – even if they’re dogs.
Neil decides that Baby should hang around with him. When she sees Johnny Castle (Blake Zelesnikar) and Penny Johnson (Olivia Cece) dancing together, she’s in awe, but Neil reprimands them for dancing together.
The Cast of Dirty Dancing. Photo provided.
Later, Baby runs into Johnny’s cousin, Billy (Ethan Peterson), who’s carrying three watermelons. Grabbing one, she follows him to the staff rec cabin where everyone is dancing to Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance). She feels kind of uncomfortable and awkward, especially when Johnny says she shouldn’t be there.
During that first week, Baby learns a lot about what’s going on at Kellerman’s. One day, she comes across Billy and Penny. Billy has just found someone to fix Penny’s problem, but they need $250. Penny’s in tears because she asked Robby but he denied it was his. Even when Baby gets the money from her dad, Penny is reluctant since she and Johnny are supposed to dance at the Sheldrake.
Johnny and Penny decide that Baby can fill in for Penny so Johnny starts teaching her to dance. The mor they work together, the closer they become. Baby is becoming a decent dancer but she’s scared to do the lift. Johnny takes her to the lake where they practice. Penny has the abortion but the guy wasn’t a real doctor, and something is really wrong. Once again, Baby goes to her dad. He saves Penny but is really upset with Baby and disdainful of Johnny, since he’s assumed Johnny’s responsible.
Blake Zelesnikar as Johnny Castle & Annalese Starzec as Baby in Dirty Dancing. Photo provided.
That’s enough of the story – you know the rest. Some thoughts about this production;
- Elizabeth (Ashley Lalonde), in her first year at Kellerman’s turns out to be a singer par excellence as she sings most of the songs in the show
- Billy (Ethan Peterson) reveals a truly great voice when he sings In the Still of the Night
- Johnny (Blake Zelesnikar) – tall, dark and handsome and Penny (Olivia Cece) – tall, slender and blonde are both fabulous dancers
- Lisa (Lily Kren) turns out to be a great comedic actor as she shows the character’s complete inability to dance or sing on key
- Marjorie Houseman (Gina Laparella) has a perfect golf swing
- Baby (Annalese Starzec) turns out to be a really good dancer, especially when she does the leap to a lift during the final song (to the cheers of the audience)
Baby’s father, Dr. Jake (Bryan Fenkart) really ticks me off when he makes assumptions – that Lisa will be a model or something but Baby will save the world; that Robby Gould (Antony Sanchez), the waiter is good because he’s a med student at Yale; that Johnny is bad because he’s not; that Baby did something wrong when she defended Johnny and gave him an alibi.
Annalese Starzec as Baby & Blake Zelesnikar as Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing. Photo provided.
Also important to the plot:
- Vivian Pressman (Sarah Ellis) whose husband comes to Kellerman’s on weekends while she stays all week, taking lots of dance lessons with Johnny and demanding more than that.
- Moe Pressman (Jason Richards) who wants to play pinochle all night, tries to give Johnny money to keep his wife amused.
- Mr. Shumacher (Jonas Cohen), another guest whom Baby saw in the audience at the Sheldrake (they had a robbery too). When he stole Pressman’s wallet, Johnny was accused of the theft because he walked past. Even though Baby provided his alibi, he was still fired.
The concluding song, the iconic (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, was written for specifically for the film. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
Dirty Dancing: The Musical is based on the film written by Eleanor Bergstein based on her life as the younger daughter of a Jewish doctor whose family vacationed in the Catskills. The music came from her collection of records. Dirty Dancing: The Musical is directed by Lonny Price (who played Neil Kellerman in the film), with Choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie, Scenic Design by Brett Banakis.
Ensemble: Jonas Cohen, Sarah Ellis, Lily Kren, Zoe Edan Lemelman, Francesca Moncuso, Brett Rawlings, Jason Richards, Antony Sanches, Grace Sauter, Neil Starkenberg, Fisher Land Stewart, John Swapshire, Camella Taitt.
Annalese Starzec as Baby & Blake Zelesnikar as Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing. Photo provided.
Orchestra: Conductor/Keyboards – Patrick Tice-Carroll; Associate Conductor/Keyboards – Andy Grobengieser; Drums – Paddy Moran; Reeds – Jonathan Golko; Trumpets – Carey Deadman, Adam Roebuck; Trombone – Andrew Baker; Percussion – Jeff Handley; Guitars – Scott Reed.
Dirty Dancing: The Musical runs through September 20th at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph Street, Chicago. Running time is two hours, 25 minutes, with an intermission. Performances: Tuesday, Thursday & Friday at 7:00 pm; Wednesday at 1:00 & 7:00 pm; Saturday at 2:00 & 7:30 pm, Sunday at 1:00 pm. Tickets range from $40-$135. FYI www.BroadwayInChicago.com.