Swing Joined: 12/25/04
Just want to say how great the stage version is of Dirty Dancing currently on stage in Sydney Australia. Can't get a seat until February.
The cast is sensational especially Josef Brown (Johnny), Kym Valentine (Baby) and Nadia Coote (Penny) - everyone in town is talking about it - huge buzz happening.
Met some people at the show on Wednesday night who had booked 9 tickets on line from London.
Is it playing at the casino in Sydney? Saw Saturday Night Fever there in August, and it was good.
Funny the last thing we heard was not so positive.Glad to hear its noo so bad! Always thought it & Moonstuck had potential for the stage.
I said "good" !! It didn't seem to have the same excitement as it did in NYC. I blamed it on perhaps being in a casino theatre - just doesn't seem like Broadway! Almost seemed like a bit of a country and western show at times!
DIRTY DANCING is on at a "real" theatre...the Royal...and like "Saturday Night Fever" succeeds almost entirely on the goodwill of audiences who know and revere the movie. Famous lines like "Nobody puts baby in the corner" are greeted with shrieks and applause, while unsuspecting first timers tend to sit there non-plussed. Both shows scrape by on the skill and terrific energy of the cast, epecially the dancers, while people in the industry are saddened by yet another example of a dud show making big bucks on the strength of a pre-sold title (Footloose, anyone?) rather than any artistic merit. But the producer of "DD" knows he's got a worldwide franchise on his hands, so I'm sure it will be Coming To A Theatre Near You very soon... Incidentally, the Lyric Theatre at the Casino in Sydney has the largest capacity in town and has played host to everything from "Show Boat" to "The Merry Widow". It will soon house "The Producers" after it's Brisbane run.
The show is coming to Melbourne soon. The hot pink marquee went up on the Princess Theatre a few days ago.
I MUST SEE THIS SHOW.
A friend of mine flew down to Sydney last week and saw it. She said it was just wonderful. But then, she is a fan of the show and her tastes in theatre are not always what I would choose.
I have to agree with wildcat. Too many of these shows are coasting off the success of the film (or recording artist), not on any merit of their own.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
Kym Valentine is a big star in Australia, is she not? Like Kylie Minogue?
No, she's a B-List soap "star".
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