Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield – until Saturday 15 January 2023
Reviewed by Kev Roberts
4****
My initial thought on watching a theatre production of Dirty Dancing, was whether I could watch it without reminiscing about the original movie and comparing the cast to those film actors. If I’m honest it took me a few minutes to get past this but once the show started, I became engrossed, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman (Kira Malou) and Johnny Castle (Michael O’Reilly) soon draw you in, especially with their obvious chemistry and ability to play the parts perfectly without comparing them to Swayze and Grey. Malou’s kooky traits and comedic undertones and her ability to act as this beginner dancer (which is harder than it looks) is second to none and shouldn’t be underestimated. She portrays the vulnerability of the character well, whilst highlighting her strengths and morals, in always being there for others.
O’Reilly performance as Johnny is equally impressive. Its difficult to pull off an American accent without sounding a little cheesy but he does it with aplomb, downplaying it enough to sound authentic. His stern demeanour, but caring and sympathetic manner towards his friend Penny (Georgia Aspinall) is done well. Much of the highlights of the production of course is the fantastic dancing between them both. O’Reilly and Aspinall excite and impress with their moves and despite the relatively small stage of the Lyceum, this doesn’t pose a problem and they display their skills to the full.
The production generally stays true to the movie, yet it puts its own twist on it to ensure that the lesser known characters such as Tito (Colin Charles) and Mr Schumacher (Mark Faith) get to portray their own acting and singing talents also. Charles gets the audience going with his own unique moves and fabulous singing and Elizabeth ( Lydia Sterling) adds to the show with her fantastic vocals adding some extra substance to an already well known script. Faith as Mr Schumacher also injects some unexpected humour into the show with his goofiness highlighting his own performance well, despite being on the peripheral. This also applies to Daisy Steere who plays Lisa Houseman. Her portrayal of Lisa was outstanding, specifically at the end whilst she takes centre stage to sing her song, the audience were in stitches. Great comedic timing. Support acts such as Dr Houseman (Jack Loy) his wife Marjorie (Taryn Sudding) and Billy Kostecki (Danny Colligan) and the rest of the cast all play their part in ensuring a classic film was brought to life on stage.
In regards to the set, this is equally impressive as stated earlier the stage feels quite small but the way the set is constantly changed without a break in acting keeps the nostalgia and flow of the show. You genuinely feel you are at Kellermans on vacation and in the moment. The way the build up to the famous lift and the dance training between Baby and Johnny is also clever, especially the lighting for the log scene. This of course is the build up to the last dance and the famous lift that the raucous and expectant crowd have been waiting for and despite probably doing it a thousand times they don’t disappoint.
Of course we all know nobody puts baby in the corner and this production definitely needs to be front and centre like Baby and Johhny. It takes a well loved movie and transforms it into a fantastic stage adaptation that is filled with fun, wit, warmth and outstanding dancing, ensuring the audience definitely had the time of their lives.