Leeds Grand Theatre – until Saturday 17 August 2019
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
4****
I must start by saying this was my first visit to Leeds Grand Theatre, and what a lovely old Victorian theatre it is, with all it’s nooks and crannies. The detail inside is absolutely stunning, that’s worth a visit just on its own.
Dirty Dancing is the well-loved 1987 film, which has been adapted to stage. This record-breaking tour has hit Leeds with a whoop, whistle and a cheer. Before the show there was such a buzz in theatre, the audience of predominately women, chatting away with eager excitement, I have never heard such a noisy theatre, but as soon as the curtain rose it quietened down, well for the most part anyway, I will come to that later.
Set during the summer of 1963 it tells the story of Frances “Baby” Houseman (Katie Eccles) visiting Kellermans, with her parents and sister. This is the summer that sees her maturing into a young woman with the help of Johnny Castle (Michael O’Reilly). Baby and her family arrive at Kellermans, has her first glimpse of Johnny and then manages to gate-crash a staff party, and yes the “I carried a watermelon” scene is included. This is where she starts falling for Johnny, but then again who wouldn’t?
The story follows the film quite closely as we see the naïve Baby maturing into a young woman, as she steps in to cover Penny (Millie Hood) and must learn to dance, with the help of Johnny. Eccles, who is in fact the understudy, but has previously toured in the role of Baby, plays Baby with a goofy turn, growing from awkward teenager into a confident young woman. I did find at times that she was just a bit too goofy and forced, she needed to be more natural, but that was a minor niggle. I have seen this show in York, quite early on in its tour, and I can remember thinking that O’Reilly needed to take ownership of his role. I am glad to say he has, he looks a lot more confident and comfortable as Johnny and his acting and accent have improved, this role is also his professional debut. He really is an amazing dancer, very charismatic.
The choreography throughout is fast paced and exciting, performed by such a talented cast. Hood, also an understudy, stepping up from the ensemble is supple as Penny, I would so love to dance like that, I would love to be able to dance full stop. I did think that maybe the show was missing a few dancers with having two of the main characters using understudies, not that you could tell.
Greg Fossard as Neil Kellerman, provided us with a few laughs, but the real laughter was courtesy of Lizzie Ottley as Lisa Houseman. Her rendition of the Hula Hana song had us all in stitches and received a huge cheer and applause. What was the really icing on the cake was the fact that she was loving it, really exaggerated her performance, it was fabulous. All the cast of actors, dancers and singers were engaging and worked well together, you could tell they had been touring together for a while.
The staging was quite intricate with it constantly moving as the scenes changed. This didn’t always run smoothly, as sometimes you could see the stage hands moving, what looked to be, quite a heavy set. The lake scene is also a sight to behold, and maybe not for the right reasons. It is not good, but I’m not sure how it could have been done differently. It did provide the whole audience with a huge giggle, which can’t be bad, all those endorphins. Dirty Dancing is not really a musical, more a play with a bit of live singing, the only ones to really sing are Alex Wheeler as Billy, Sian Gentle-Green and Colin Charles. It does have a live band, who are very good, and some recorded music with tunes so well remembered from the film.
The audience undeniably approved of the very muscular O’Reilly and his naked chest and bare bottom, on show for us all to see. The Leeds crowd is a lot less restrained than the reserved York crowd, I can tell you, and they showed their appreciation in all its glory. The finale of I’ve had the Time of my Life had us all up on our feet, singing and dancing along. What a great ending to a wonderful evening.
Dirty Dancing is a show not to miss. Who can resist “I’ve carried a watermelon”, “nobody puts baby in a corner” and that iconic lift?