When we found out that the Dirty Dancing was returning to the West End this summer we had high expectations. We’ve seen this 1980s classic film more times than we can remember [maybe we’re just too embarrassed to actually state the exact number].
Yeh we know, it’s a typical love story, Baby and Johnny dance together, they fall in love, are kept apart, and in the end they reunite. But then we’re just typical women who enjoy the emotion and affection that the romantic movies convey. When we got invited to watch the musical, how on earth could we say no?
Nela couldn’t make the show in the end, she was stuck indoors revising for her medical exam. But for me [Nila] it turned out to be a fun night out, the atmosphere was great, the music was amazing and the dancing was incredible. For the first time ever a part of me just wanted to get up and dance on stage [but luckily I only had one glass of wine].
The only big downfall was that Johnny and Baby were actually lacking on-stage chemistry and I found it hard to connect with both characters at times.
The production didn’t really do the movie justice when Baby and Johnny start practicing the dance in the river, it just looked as if they were drowning but somehow managed to stay completely dry.
We haven’t yet met anyone who hasn’t seen the movie, male and female [we’re still waiting for it to happen]. The musical was a complete replicate of it, so if you’re a massive fan of the film then grab your mum, your sister and your best friend too and head to the Piccadilly Theatre.
But if you’re looking for something more original this show may not do wonders for you.
