Dirty Dancing, Princess Theatre, Thursday April 16th 2015

Dirty Dancing, Princess Theatre, Thursday April 16th 2015

This is the return season of "Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage" the musical after ten years at the Princess Theatre.

For those new to my blog, I do not retell the story and I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre.  If you want further information I provide various links.  I try to find different and appropriate links that I feel are relevant to give you further information.

"Dirty Dancing" the musical is based on the movie of the same name. 

Buying tickets was easy and the Ticketmaster service was good.

Arriving at the Princess Theatre the staff greeted you with courtesy when buying a programme or cloaking my coat.

"Dirty Dancing" is a fool proof musical theatre as they have a captured audience of devotees of the movie.  I remember very clearly the excitement of the women and girls in the audience in Melbourne 2005.  In 2015 the pre-show excitement or anticipation was dissipated by the use of mobile phones, iPADS, tablets and other gadgets.  So many TWANKERS were not talking to their family or friends, but fidgeting with their devices!

I am saddened that my original 2004/2005 programme with all of my cuttings from newspapers and magazines was lent to someone, who gave it away by accident.  Hence, I cannot compare my notes and can only do so from my memories.

I must say that I preferred the original production of 2004/2005 for a number of reasons.  One is the excitement of seeing a new show and the anticipation that goes with that.  It is not necessarily fair to compare performers or performances but to make observations.  It looked as if there were about two or four less people in this production than during some of the ensemble numbers in the 2004/2005 production.

An original cast recording was made of the original Australian cast in 2004/2005.  There are 33 credited "Live track" members on this recording compared to 26 cast members in the 2015 programme.  Admittedly, they do sometimes pad out recordings with session singers but usually they are given separate credits.  I feel my recollection of a larger cast size in 2004/2005 is accurate and worked better.

I am still in awe of the staging with the revolve and the mechanics to slide forward the largest set piece.  This suddenly struck me that the Gail Edwards' version of "Aspects of Love" had such an impact or influence on the central set design. With the combination of the revolve and the louvered screens this paid homage to Roger Kirk's set design of the revolve and the flowing curtains in "Aspects of Love."

The director, James Powell has used the short filmic scenes which require quick changes of locations. Various staging devices are used to some degree of success.  There are four short scenes, including the opening scene that do not work if you are sitting outside the boundaries of the proscenium arch.  We sat in Dress Circle A30 and 31 and you could not see the opening upstage left action due to the speakers.  Nor could you fully see the two  "fridge scenes" properly.  Plus you could barely see the red head come on for a revealing "caught" moment.  Heaven forbid if the people further to my right would not have seen any of this, nor would the audience members on the extreme left of the theatre.  I had to lean to my left at times to try to see what was happening.

A simple solution is for the director to check sight lines from various major locations in the venue.  Two, bring in the action from the wings one metre and presto you have a more visible solution.  Or the least favourable option is to reduce the ticket prices for these restricted views.  You should only charge full price if you can see all of the stage all of the time!

There are a few scenes that end with a dead spot rather than transitioning smoothly into the next scene.  These could be overcome by a simple lighting change to shift the focus of the audience.

The set design by Stephen Brimson Lewis is clever and simple, particularly the use of the revolve and the louvered screens to reveal both the action and the orchestra.  The video and production design by Jon Driscoll supported the set design by creating wonderful iconic images from the movie.  These images transported us immediately to the location.  Greatly effective.

The costume designs by Jennifer Irwin create a 1963 feel. 

Visually the creative team do their job to create a "magic moment" for their audience.

Choreography by Michele Lynch was too modern for my liking.  It had Pilates-exercise in-jokes and other tricks that were not in keeping with the period of 1963.  The showy gymnastic flips look out of place.  I much preferred the original choreography by Kate Champion.

Some of the choreography also paid homage to "Strictly Ballroom." The slides heightened my disappointment that they were not used as effectively in "Strictly Ballroom" the musical.  So congratulations for incorporating these slides for excitement and dramatic impact.

The execution of the choreography was mainly performed with gusto.  A few dancers looked like they were marking their moves as they did not have full extensions or the definition required of some moves.  Maybe there were a few swings replacing regular cast members and I observed some wrong footwork.  I will not know as I could not see a cast change board, nor replacements announced. (Note that these observations were not during the dance lesson scenes.)

There are a few awkward changes between scenes with some dead spots that could do with a lighting change to segue to the next scene.  Lighting by Tim Mitchell was effective though there are a few opportunities to improve the flow.

Sound design by Bobby Aitken was balanced but a little too loud on occasions.  The band played well as lead by David Skelton.

Singing wise there is not much to sing about. It is your classic juke box musical with lots of songs or parts of songs to recall.  The harmonies were good.  The lead singer Mark Vincent as Billy Kostecki was my saving grace with his rich voice and his soaring falsetto notes.  I apologise to the female singer who sang the duet "The Time of Our Lives" as I cannot find her credited in the programme.  (I know it is old fashioned to list the characters who sing various songs but it would help to congratulate her!)

"Dirty Dancing" is not your usual musical where the leads do not sing.   Kirby Burgess did a fine interpretation as Frances "Baby" Houseman.  I particularly like her transformation from the mousey ugly duckling to the assertive and strong swan.

I found it more confusing this time with the dancing version of Frances "Baby" Houseman as it did not resonate with me as coherently as in the original 2004/2005 production.

Kurt Phelan as Johnny Castle did an adequate job dancing this role, while his acting was more memorable than the original production.  You need a reliable partnership to reproduce this iconic presage lift eight shows a week.  Plus you need a performer who will captivate the audience with the requisite anticipation for recreating this essential moment from the film.   Kurt Phelan performed the famous presage lift with trust, assurance and aplomb. 

Mr Schumacher needs to be memorable for the storyline.  Barry Mitchell played this small but pivotal role in a charismatic and engaging way, with the requisite suspicious twist.

Teagan Wouters played Francis "Baby" Houseman's sister, Lisa Houseman with genuine rapport to both the audience and the actors she played opposite.

Adam Murphy as the father, Dr Jake Houseman had a quiet composure and I particularly liked his relationships to his daughters, wife, Johnny and Penny Johnson.

Penny Johnson played by Maddie Peat showcased her Radio City Rockette shapely legs.  She is a fine dancer but it worried me that her back bends would snap.  There is a difference between control and showmanship and danger. Choreographic demands are tested on her every move, to be spectacular for eight shows a week.  With your natural flexibility, please ensure you support your core to the fullest - I am not saying you did not, but I want to see your superb dancing for many years to come!

The final entrance of Johnny was not as spectacular as in 2004/2005 with him coming from the back of the stalls.  I can understand why they changed this final entrance to the left side of the audience for more people to see.  But that thrill of looking around and seeing him running down the aisle was lost.  The females (and some men) were panting in anticipation during the Melbourne 2005 performance.  Here the audience cheered but not like watching all the heads turn and the Dress Circle and Upper Circle craning their heads to see his elongated arrival.  The 2004/2005 final entrance had the audience more vocally appreciative.  The inappropriate behaviour of the middle-aged woman in Stalls C12 (approximate seat) took away the thrill of this moment.

The audience around this rude Stalls C12 woman had the front two rows of the Dress Circle watching her TWANKING antics with her phone or iPAD or tablet.  It was so distracting that I pity those sitting next to, or behind her.  Holding up her device so high caught our attention with the lights that we missed moments on stage.  Thankfully the two ushers used their torches to ask her to stop her rude and distracting behaviour.  This inconsiderate woman should apologise to the audience and to the performers for trying to photograph their "copy write" protected work.

I was so pleased that I later learned the ushers managed to get this rude woman to delete the photographs.  So my heartiest congratulations to the ushers for their dedication to respect all theatre goers.

I long for the day when it is illegal to use phones or cameras in the theatres as it is illegal in New York (even though they still get used there too.)  It is about mutual respect for all audience members.  Some people save for months to see a show and it is not fair to destroy other audience member's nights.

Overall I gave this production a 6/10.