Dirty Dancing Review
Venue: Richmond Theatre, Richmond
Dates: 5 Oct - 9 Oct
Alastair Muir
OUR VERDICT:
They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and theatre lovers around the borough must have felt theirs bursting out of their chests this week as Richmond Theatre reopened after weathering and surviving the Covid storm.
After a closure of 559 days, it was entirely fitting that this gorgeous building, which has staged live performances since 1899, should welcome the public once more with the ultimate feel-good show, Dirty Dancing.
Federico Bellone’s production, with choreography by Austin Wilks, looked slightly cramped on Richmond’s Victorian stage, the dancers seemingly conscious of the diminuitive space, but there was nothing to fault in the energy stakes or the quality of performance.
Fans of the film – of which there were clearly many in the audience – know the Dirty Dancing story well. Set in the summer of 1963, the Housemans – Doctor Jake, wife Marj, Lisa and Baby – arrive at the Kellerman holiday resort, a sort of upmarket American Butlin’s for a three-week vacation. Baby (Kira Malou) is the apple of her father’s eye, while Lisa is set on catching a very different eye, that of entitled Robbie Gould, medical student and cad.
Left to her own devices, Baby ends up at a camp staff party where she encounters dancer Penny and her moody but mysterious professional partner, Johnny Castle, played by Michael O’Reilly.
The politically motivated Baby, exponent of doing the right thing and wanting to solve every problem, can’t help getting mixed up in the affairs of Johnny, Penny and Robbie and in the process manages to disappoint her father and fall in love while learning some life lessons and a few dance moves along the way.
Malou plays the awkward and naïve Baby perfectly, never quite losing her teenage gawkiness, as she partners Johnny on the dance floor, stepping on his toes and dissolving into ticklish giggles as he strokes her arm. In turn, Michael O’Reilly’s stony-faced bad boy persona gradually thaws as he learns to trust and understand her simple goodness.
Tall, athletic and good-looking O’Reilly is hard to take your eyes off. With his smouldering swagger and drawl he is the perfect foil to Baby’s pert righteousness and Bellone has capitalized on his sex appeal with scenes involving him topless and – gasp – bottomless as he emerges from a tousled bed. Do not fear, this was not a full frontal but the audience, already giddy with excitement, couldn’t help themselves and his naked flesh is greeted with whoops and cheers. As Baby was still primly attired in a cotton bra and Bridget Jones style pants, it all felt a little unnecessary and objectifying especially as O’Reilly had managed to command the audience’s attention perfectly well with his clothes on.
The original movie soundtrack was a huge commercial success when the film came out in 1987, selling 32 million copies worldwide, and the stage show does not disappoint with its musical numbers. These are taken mostly by the talented Amber Sylvia Edwards as Elizabeth and Samuel Bailey as Billy and from the opening This Magic Moment through classics like Hungry Eyes and She’s Like the Wind to the closing Yes! of the encore, it’s hard to keep still in your seat. Even Lisa’s Hula, sung with gusto by wonderful Lizzie Otley didn’t sound half bad.
‘Are you ready for the time of your lives?’ Tito Suarez (Colin Charles) had asked us, once, twice, three times at the beginning of the show. Yes, we had answered, a little tentatively in a very British way. As the curtain came down two and a half hours later, we had all been magically teleported to Kellerman’s, where we were on our feet, clapping, cheering and smiling from ear to ear. And you can’t ask for more than that.
Tickets are available to book online here, or call 0844 871 7615. Dirty Dancing will be showing at the Richmond Theatre until 9th October.
