Have the Time of Your Life as Dirty Dancing returns to Glasgow and Edinburgh
and sexier than ever, due to overwhelming
demand for tickets around the country, even more dates have now been added to
the UK and Ireland tour of the brand new production of Dirty Dancing –
The Classic Story On Stage. Many performances have already sold out,
and since originally going on sale in October 2015, over 150,000 tickets have
been snapped up, with over £5million taken.
The classic
story of Baby and Johnny, featuring the hit songs 'Hungry Eyes', ‘Hey!
Baby’, ‘Do You Love Me?’ and the heart stopping ‘(I’ve Had) The
Time Of My Life’, returns to the UK this summer, following two
blockbuster West End runs, two hit UK tours, and various sensational
international productions. The show will return to the Edinburgh
Playhouse from 12th to 17th June
2017. King's 19th - 24th June 2017
Lewis
Griffiths will star as ‘Johnny Castle’, one of the most
iconic roles in popular culture. Lewis has had a prolific career in musical
theatre, most recently starring as ‘Nick Massi’ on the UK tour of Jersey
Boys. Other roles in UK tours include Ghost and Legally
Blonde, and West End credits include Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Rent and Whistle
Down the Wind.
Katie
Hartland will make her professional musical theatre
debut carrying the watermelons as she takes on the role of ‘Baby Houseman’,
having graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2015.
Carlie Milner will
star as ‘Penny Johnson’. Carlie is part of the Dirty Dancing family; starting
as a member of the ensemble in 2014, she covered and subsequently took over the
role of ‘Penny’ in 2015.
Joining
Lewis, Katie and Carlie will be Julian Harries as ‘Jake
Houseman’, Simone Craddock as ‘Marjorie Houseman’, Roger
Martin ‘as Max Kellerman’, Jo Servi as ‘Tito Suarez’, Lizzie
Ottley as ‘Lisa Houseman’, Michael Kent as ‘Billy
Kostecki’, Greg Fossard as ‘Neil Kellerman’, Tony
Stansfield as ‘Mr Schumacher’, and Daniela Pobega as
‘Elizabeth’, and Camilla Rowland as ‘Vivian’. Also joining the
company are Gabby Antrobus, Imogen Brooke, Simon
Campbell, Robert Colvin, Katie Eccles, Beth
Highsted, Megan Louch, Ashley Rumble, Callum
Sterling, Austin Wilks and Karl James Wilson.
Full of
passion and romance, heart-pounding music and sensationally sexy dancing, the
record-breaking show has been reconceived in an all new production created by
an innovative new creative team; directed by Federico Bellone, choreographed by
Gillian Bruce and with design re-imagined by top Italian set designer Roberto
Comotti. The production premiered in Milan in July 2015, subsequently packing
out the 15,000 seat Roman Arena in Verona, and then played a season in Rome.
Tour Dates
for the UK production are as follows, Blackpool Opera House (11 - 30 August
2016), Orchard Theatre, Dartford (1 – 10 September), Grand Theatre, Swansea (12
– 17 September), Aylesbury Waterside (19 – 24 September), New Theatre,
Wimbledon (26 September – 1 October), Palace Theatre, Manchester (10 – 15
October), Grand Opera House, York (17 – 22 October), Carlisle Sands Centre (24
– 29 October), Northampton Derngate (31 October – 5 November), Regent Theatre,
Stoke (7 – 12 November), Kings Theatre, Southsea (14 – 19 November), Reading
Hexagon (21 – 26 November), and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (28 November – 3
December). Southend Cliffs Pavilion (10 - 21 January), Belgrade Theatre
Coventry (30 January – 4 February), Dublin Bord Gais Theatre (6 - 11 February),
Millennium Forum, Derry (13 - 18 February), Grand Opera House Belfast (20 – 25
February), INEC Killarney (27 February – 4 March), Ipswich Regent (20 - 25
March), Cardiff New Theatre (27 March-1 April), Wycombe Swan (3 - 8 April),
Leicester De Montfort Hall (10 – 15 April), Hall for Cornwall Truro (17 - 22
April) [on sale soon], Milton Keynes Theatre (24 - 29 April), and Birmingham
Alexandra (29 May - 3 June).
The new tour
dates for 2017 are as follows: Churchill Bromley (6 – 11 March), Bradford
Alhambra (1 – 6 May), Inverness Eden Court (8 – 13 May), Grimsby Auditorium (22
– 27 May), Sheffield Lyceum (5 – 10 June) [on sale soon], Edinburgh Playhouse
(12 – 17 June), Glasgow Kings Theatre (19 – 24 June), Bristol Hippodrome (3 – 8
July), Grand Theatre Leeds (24 – 29 July) [on sale soon], and the Princess
Theatre Torquay (31 July – 5 August).
It’s the
summer of 1963, and 17 year- old Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman is about to learn some
major lessons in life as well as a thing or two about dancing. On holiday in
New York’s Catskill Mountains with her older sister and parents, she shows
little interest in the resort activities, and instead discovers her own
entertainment when she stumbles across an all-night dance party at the staff
quarters. Mesmerised by the raunchy dance moves and the pounding rhythms, Baby
can’t wait to be part of the scene, especially when she catches sight of Johnny
Castle the resort dance instructor. Her life is about to change forever as she
is thrown in at the deep end as Johnny’s leading lady both on-stage and off, and
two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds come together in
what will be the most challenging and triumphant summer of their lives.
Dirty Dancing
–The Classic Story On Stage originally opened at London’s Aldwych Theatre in
2006 with a record-breaking advance of £15 million, making it the fastest ever
selling show in West End theatre history. The production became the longest
running show in the history of the Aldwych Theatre and played to over 2 million
people during its triumphant 5 year run.
Since its
Australian debut in 2004, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage, has
become a worldwide phenomenon, with productions staged in the USA, Canada,
Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore and
throughout Europe, consistently breaking box office records. Recent sell out
tours include France, Germany and Australia. The first ever UK tour of Dirty
Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage, which launched in 2011, took an
unprecedented £42,000,000 at theatres across the country. In 2013, Dirty
Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage returned to the West End and played at the
Piccadilly Theatre in London until 23February 2014, prior to launching a second
UK and Ireland tour.
Produced by
Karl Sydow, Joye Entertainment and Paul Elliott, in association with Lionsgate
and Magic Hour Productions, and written by Eleanor Bergstein, script writer of
the phenomenally successful 1987 film, the production features the much-loved
characters and original dialogue from the iconic film, with exciting extra
scenes added in.
