No-one puts Baby in a corner

John, my mum and myself went to the West End last night to see the stage version of Dirty Dancing. My ticket was my birthday present from John, Mum's ticket was a birthday present from me and John's one was just the one he bought for himself. We only just made it in time as we had to make three changes on the tube, but we had good seats eight rows from the front.

I was dreading this show being as poor as Grease but thank heaven it wasn't. Unlike the afore mentioned, Dirty Dancing was produced much better and followed the script and scenes more or less exactly the same as the film. It was a tiny theatre, as was the stage but they made good use of the space with a variety of props and scenery. I said to John before it started, 'I wonder how they'll do the log scene'. Well down came a log from the side of the stage which looked very real, but I doubt it could be bearing in mind the weight. They had a video background of a river and it looked effective. The actor who played Johnny had a fit body (see pic) and he certainly got the girls going! The actress playing Baby was as close a likeness you're ever likely to see. You wouldn't think so looking at her in the programme but with her hair styled like Jennifer Grey's and with a figure exactly the same, it was a very good match. (I don't think the girl in the pic is her). All the songs that feature in the film were played in sequence but maybe a couple of criticisms: not enough live singing and dirty dancing! The end was great. When Johnny returned and said 'No-one puts Baby in a corner' there was huge applause. And then there was the moment when they did the lift.

I wouldn't say it's one of the best musicals I've seen, but it's definitely worth a night out.