The production company responsible for this evenings entertainment was very keen to point out that it is no way affiliated to “Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage”. It’s no wonder... The two simply cannot compare. Having seen the latter both in the West End and on tour it is safe to say that this production is a poor comparison and was, overall, a massive disappointment.
The premise is simple we are the audience at the Kellerman’s end of season show looking back on the events that have unfolded this Season. In other words we flash through the highlights from the film and its memorable soundtrack, as well as a few others, which I am pretty sure didn’t make the final cut. Most songs were sung live by a member of the cast and of course there was lots of (Dirty) dancing!
You wouldn’t think then that much could be wrong, as it pretty much promises what is on the tin. The problem with this show fell down to three things. Firstly the cheesy and at times embarrassing links between numbers made by our something “hosts” Leo Sene (Max Kellerman) and Alexia Collard (Lisa Houseman). Whilst the pair had excellent energy and managed to whip this crowd of mainly (slightly drunk and leary) women into a frenzy throughout, the exchanges were often cheap, absurd and often baring little relevance to the film, nor the character they were aiming to portray. Sene was effective in his master of ceremonies role and was an able dancer but his singing was average not helped by the poor quality of the headset microphone that he spent the majority of the production fiddling with. Collard gave us a master class in over-acting and whilst her down tempo number was fairly pleasant to listen to the rest of the time I found her character to be irritating and her singing voice a little whiny. 
The second of the problems came down to the lead characters of Baby (Eloise Grey) and Johnny Castle who was played tonight by the Director Philip J Hawkins as the actor Darius J James was ill. The pair lacked chemistry on stage and neither was particularly impressive as a dancer or singer. Hawkins, to my mind, appeared almost as a bit of a letch and I am afraid to say his singing was weak, often drowned out by the backing tracks (which actually may have been a saving grace). Grey lacked any stage presence, looked bored throughout most the production and I am convinced she mimed some of her songs. There was certainly no magic between the pair which is possibly down to the change of casting on this evening – I hope that in other productions the lead is able to bring a little more charisma, charm and sex appeal to the role of Johnny, which Hawkins was distinctly lacking.
My third and final gripe with the production was the finale. Whilst it sighted the famous dialogue (although on this occasion you wanted to run to the corner and hide yourself) the final scene to “Time of My Life” was awkwardly danced, badly sung and frankly had an embarrassing excuse for a “lift”.
But did the audience care? Probably not. The majority of people there were there to have a good sing along and reminisce on a film they hold close to their hearts. Judging by some of the bar bills I imagine some of the ladies in the audience would have forgiven the rusty vocals and cheap cabaret style comparing or perhaps not even notice it.
This production was not entirely without merit however and it must be said that some of the dancers were simply exceptional, namely Connor Byrne (Robbie), Hayley Marie Baker (Penny), Katie Lowe and Tyler Kennington. These performers stood out from the rest with real stage presence, excellent musicality and flair. The boys in particular were excellent dancers and impressed the ladies (and some gentlemen in the front row) by their perfectly executed choreography and by ripping their tops off at every opportunity!
As I said previously I am convinced that most of the audience will have gone away having had a good fun night, they were certainly encouraged to have one, but there was probably a number of others (such as those I saw on my way out complaining at the box office) who felt that for a ticket priced at over £20 a much more professional and, well, classy production could have been put together, or at the very least they could have found some stronger vocalists. I have to say this show was disappointing and if you are looking for more than just a little nostalgia and a good sing along I would recommend you look elsewhere.
Reviewer: Ashley Price
Reviewed: 19th March 2016
