Seeing Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych was fun, but I came away with mixed feelings. The dancers, dancing, set and costumes were absolutely superb.
However, the show seemed to rely on the audience having already watched the film and I would imagine someone watching the show without having seen the film having a really difficult job keeping up with what was going on. Also, the show included almost every scene from the film - these scene changes, though very imaginative and clever, happened every couple of minutes making the production feel disjointed. I don't think all of these scene changes were necessary and I don't think enough time was spent adapting the film for a stage production - the show would have benefitted from less scenes and more continuity and engagement.
I loved the performers' excitement, which was infectious, especially the finale which saw the audience all clapping and dancing along!
I love the film, but it's not one of my all-time favourites, and my feeling is that if you really, really love the film I think, unfortunately, you might be disappointed with the musical.
My all-time favourite, Guys and Dolls ~ this one might surprise Mr B I think his money would be on Chicago being my favourite! ~ has not yet been surpassed.
My all time favorite is Les Miz...I saw it in London for the first time. It was magical! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review! Sounds like a good time. I've never seen Guys and Dolls, but its on my list. my all time fav was "moving out" a musical set to billy joel music. it was FANTASTIC!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen Guys and Dolls and my sister was in that play when she was in College -- I loved the movie Dirty Dancing, sorry it seemed so disjointed :) Sounds like it was a fun night out, though!
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