The National Tour of "Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage"
This Broadway season at the Plaza Theatre has been rather hit or miss. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder were lovely, while Motown: The Musical was dreadful. I did not see Rent, but I heard nothing but good reports about the production. Although I would not compare the two shows directly, the current national tour of Dirty Dancing happened to fall more into the lane of Motown. Above all, I have one word for the stage version of Dirty Dancing and that word is "laughable." The stage version of Dirty Dancing borders on painful, but what saves it from being painful is that it's so easy to laugh at, and I don't mean that in a positive way.
Dirty Dancing is the story of a girl (Frances Houseman) nicknamed "Baby" who goes to a summer getaway with her family. While there, Baby befriends staff members named Johhny Castle and Penny Johnson, who are dancers at the getaway. When Penny gets pregnant cannot find another time to get an abortion other than during an important gig for her and Johnny, she has to step down and "Baby" helps Johnny by learning how to dance so she can fill in for Penny. While doing this, "Baby" becomes romantically involved with Johnny, despite her family's wishes for her to get away from him and his friends.
I would like to start off by saying that while I didn't think Dirty Dancing was good at all, I would much rather sit through that show than a lot of other shows. Eleanor Bergstein's script is so poorly paced out and lethargic. While the show doesn't bill itself as a musical, it is so confused as to if it is one or not. A majority of the songs happen in the background of scenes, but every now and then the cast will enter and sing as if it were a musical. When they do sing to the audience as if it were a musical, it's pointless. It does not advance the story and it's just there to pad out the show to a full length running time. Speaking of the songs, only two characters sing, one of the characters is only sort of important to the plot in the first act. This is Billy (played by Nickolaus Colon). Then we have another character, who is a singer. This is the role played by Erica Philpot (billed as Elizabeth/Singer). She is onstage a lot and she sings most, if not all of the songs in the show. Despite this, YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THE HECK SHE IS. She is not important to the plot in any way, nor do they actually call her by a name during the show. During the second act, they attempted to set up a subplot by giving Colon an unrequited love song to sing about her, but that is it and again, nobody really knows who exactly she was. She walks onstage, sings a song, then walks back off. That is it. I cannot even put into words how pointless that character was. They make her out as if she is one of the leads in the show, but she isn't important whatsoever. She doesn't have a story and she has no character, she is literally just there.
Next, the storytelling was so unclear. The plot was easy to follow, but Bergstein doesn't clarify what is happening in the story and it leaves you saying "Wait, what? How did we get here??" The dialogue is confusing and makes you feel as if you missed a line or even an important scene. This brings me to another huge issue the show had and that issue is that I simply don't care about anything that is happening on the stage. The story is set up so poorly and you are told so little about the characters that you just don't care about what happens to them. When Johnny returns to Baby after leaving the summer getaway (This isn't a spoiler), the only thought I had was "Who cares?" Those two words ran through my mind during most of the show's major plot points because we hardly know anything about the characters.
When I read director, Sarna Lapine's, biography in the Playbill before the show, I had high hopes after I saw that she directed the recent Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park With George. I hate to say it, but the direction was uneven. There were multiple blackouts where nothing would happen and actors would constantly exit the stage for no reason, only to immediately re-enter. The intimate scenes read as awkward, not only because the actors weren't adequate (we'll get to that), but because they were weirdly staged. Not to mention, there were so many scenes that clocked in at under 30 seconds and then they would change the entire set only to do another scene that was exactly the same.
I have compared this show to Flashdance: The Musical a lot in my mind because both that show and this show were written in the same vein. The actors saved the production of Flashdance: The Musical I saw from being unbearable because you could feel the passion behind every single actor's performance and they had the chops to bring Flashdance to what was a good performance of a sub par show. I wish I could say the same about Dirty Dancing. It's not the cast wasn't working hard, they were, I just imagine that at this point in their run, they are on muscle memory and when you work on muscle memory in what is obviously a substandard show, it effects your performance in a way that is obvious to the audience. As the two leads, Aaron Patrick Craven (Johnny Castle) and Kaleigh Courts (Baby Houseman) were not believable in their roles and they had no chemistry. The "Love is Strange" scene was so awkward, as were most of their scenes together. I didn't feel as if any of the acting performances were the quality you would expect from a professional (equity or non equity) touring production. The best thing I can say about the performances is that the two singers, Philpot and Colon, had wonderful voices.
The touring production of Dirty Dancing was not an enjoyable night of theatre. The show has little to no structure whatsoever and for a show with the word "Dancing" in the title, there is very little dancing. I wasn't confused by the show, so much as the show was confused by itself. The songs are used so poorly that is hard to tell if it is a musical or a play with songs and there isn't enough dancing for it to qualify as a dance show. This show was just a mess. I imagine people who love the movie will purchase tickets and may enjoy it, but I really didn't think the audience was loving it that much, which is why I was shocked when everybody suddenly went insane during the last number and leapt to their feet at the curtain call. Every now and then, the occasional chuckle would occur, but the audience never really reacted as a unit until the last scene. I am sure I have said this in past reviews, but I laughed at this show and not with it. I don't think this show has any real reason to exist. It's not interesting nor does it set forth a message. If you enjoyed the show then that is good, but I cannot imagine myself at a production of this show again.
DIRTY DANCING
by Elizabeth Bergstein
For more information the national tour of DIRTY DANCING, please visit http://us.dirtydancingontour.com/
At the time I saw the show, the touring company of DIRTY DANCING consisted of:
Frances "Baby" Houseman- KALEIGH COURTS
Elizabeth/Singer- ERICA PHILPOT
Dr. Jake Houseman- CHRISTOPHER ROBERT SMITH
Majorie Houseman- ERICA LEE CIANICULLI
Lisa Houseman- DEMTRIA PACE
Billy Tostecki/Singer- NICKOLAUS COLON
Max Kellerman- RICK GROSSMAN
Neil Kellerman- OWEN RUSSELL
Penny Johnson- ANAIS BLAKE
Johnny Castle- AARON PATRICK CRAVEN
Mr. Schumacher- BUDDY DANIELS FREEMAN
Robbie Gould- RYAN CUPELLO
Tito Suarez- TORREY LINDER
Vivian Perssman- HANNAH STRANEY
Ensemble- ALEX CALDWELL, AYLA CICCONE-BURTON, J'ROYCE JATA, HUNTER MIKLES, ERICA PHILPOT, JOSHUA CLIFTON POWELL, HANNAH STRANEY, BENJAMIN T. HENLEY, KELSEY WALSH, AIDAN ZIEGLER-HANSON
Swings- LANE HALPERIN, HONZA PELICHOVSKY
Performance Reviewed: March 11, 2018 (7:00 PM)
Dirty Dancing is the story of a girl (Frances Houseman) nicknamed "Baby" who goes to a summer getaway with her family. While there, Baby befriends staff members named Johhny Castle and Penny Johnson, who are dancers at the getaway. When Penny gets pregnant cannot find another time to get an abortion other than during an important gig for her and Johnny, she has to step down and "Baby" helps Johnny by learning how to dance so she can fill in for Penny. While doing this, "Baby" becomes romantically involved with Johnny, despite her family's wishes for her to get away from him and his friends.
I would like to start off by saying that while I didn't think Dirty Dancing was good at all, I would much rather sit through that show than a lot of other shows. Eleanor Bergstein's script is so poorly paced out and lethargic. While the show doesn't bill itself as a musical, it is so confused as to if it is one or not. A majority of the songs happen in the background of scenes, but every now and then the cast will enter and sing as if it were a musical. When they do sing to the audience as if it were a musical, it's pointless. It does not advance the story and it's just there to pad out the show to a full length running time. Speaking of the songs, only two characters sing, one of the characters is only sort of important to the plot in the first act. This is Billy (played by Nickolaus Colon). Then we have another character, who is a singer. This is the role played by Erica Philpot (billed as Elizabeth/Singer). She is onstage a lot and she sings most, if not all of the songs in the show. Despite this, YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THE HECK SHE IS. She is not important to the plot in any way, nor do they actually call her by a name during the show. During the second act, they attempted to set up a subplot by giving Colon an unrequited love song to sing about her, but that is it and again, nobody really knows who exactly she was. She walks onstage, sings a song, then walks back off. That is it. I cannot even put into words how pointless that character was. They make her out as if she is one of the leads in the show, but she isn't important whatsoever. She doesn't have a story and she has no character, she is literally just there.
Next, the storytelling was so unclear. The plot was easy to follow, but Bergstein doesn't clarify what is happening in the story and it leaves you saying "Wait, what? How did we get here??" The dialogue is confusing and makes you feel as if you missed a line or even an important scene. This brings me to another huge issue the show had and that issue is that I simply don't care about anything that is happening on the stage. The story is set up so poorly and you are told so little about the characters that you just don't care about what happens to them. When Johnny returns to Baby after leaving the summer getaway (This isn't a spoiler), the only thought I had was "Who cares?" Those two words ran through my mind during most of the show's major plot points because we hardly know anything about the characters.
When I read director, Sarna Lapine's, biography in the Playbill before the show, I had high hopes after I saw that she directed the recent Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park With George. I hate to say it, but the direction was uneven. There were multiple blackouts where nothing would happen and actors would constantly exit the stage for no reason, only to immediately re-enter. The intimate scenes read as awkward, not only because the actors weren't adequate (we'll get to that), but because they were weirdly staged. Not to mention, there were so many scenes that clocked in at under 30 seconds and then they would change the entire set only to do another scene that was exactly the same.
 |
| Kaleigh Courts and Aaron Patrick Craven in Dirty Dancing. The photo is not my own, I cannot find a credit at this time. |
I have compared this show to Flashdance: The Musical a lot in my mind because both that show and this show were written in the same vein. The actors saved the production of Flashdance: The Musical I saw from being unbearable because you could feel the passion behind every single actor's performance and they had the chops to bring Flashdance to what was a good performance of a sub par show. I wish I could say the same about Dirty Dancing. It's not the cast wasn't working hard, they were, I just imagine that at this point in their run, they are on muscle memory and when you work on muscle memory in what is obviously a substandard show, it effects your performance in a way that is obvious to the audience. As the two leads, Aaron Patrick Craven (Johnny Castle) and Kaleigh Courts (Baby Houseman) were not believable in their roles and they had no chemistry. The "Love is Strange" scene was so awkward, as were most of their scenes together. I didn't feel as if any of the acting performances were the quality you would expect from a professional (equity or non equity) touring production. The best thing I can say about the performances is that the two singers, Philpot and Colon, had wonderful voices.
The touring production of Dirty Dancing was not an enjoyable night of theatre. The show has little to no structure whatsoever and for a show with the word "Dancing" in the title, there is very little dancing. I wasn't confused by the show, so much as the show was confused by itself. The songs are used so poorly that is hard to tell if it is a musical or a play with songs and there isn't enough dancing for it to qualify as a dance show. This show was just a mess. I imagine people who love the movie will purchase tickets and may enjoy it, but I really didn't think the audience was loving it that much, which is why I was shocked when everybody suddenly went insane during the last number and leapt to their feet at the curtain call. Every now and then, the occasional chuckle would occur, but the audience never really reacted as a unit until the last scene. I am sure I have said this in past reviews, but I laughed at this show and not with it. I don't think this show has any real reason to exist. It's not interesting nor does it set forth a message. If you enjoyed the show then that is good, but I cannot imagine myself at a production of this show again.
 |
by Elizabeth Bergstein
For more information the national tour of DIRTY DANCING, please visit http://us.dirtydancingontour.com/
At the time I saw the show, the touring company of DIRTY DANCING consisted of:
Frances "Baby" Houseman- KALEIGH COURTS
Elizabeth/Singer- ERICA PHILPOT
Dr. Jake Houseman- CHRISTOPHER ROBERT SMITH
Majorie Houseman- ERICA LEE CIANICULLI
Lisa Houseman- DEMTRIA PACE
Billy Tostecki/Singer- NICKOLAUS COLON
Max Kellerman- RICK GROSSMAN
Neil Kellerman- OWEN RUSSELL
Penny Johnson- ANAIS BLAKE
Johnny Castle- AARON PATRICK CRAVEN
Mr. Schumacher- BUDDY DANIELS FREEMAN
Robbie Gould- RYAN CUPELLO
Tito Suarez- TORREY LINDER
Vivian Perssman- HANNAH STRANEY
Ensemble- ALEX CALDWELL, AYLA CICCONE-BURTON, J'ROYCE JATA, HUNTER MIKLES, ERICA PHILPOT, JOSHUA CLIFTON POWELL, HANNAH STRANEY, BENJAMIN T. HENLEY, KELSEY WALSH, AIDAN ZIEGLER-HANSON
Swings- LANE HALPERIN, HONZA PELICHOVSKY
Performance Reviewed: March 11, 2018 (7:00 PM)
Comments
Post a Comment