Dirty Dancing At Sheffield Lyceum Review

Reviewed by Dottie Rood

I was so pleased to be invited to this classic story at The Lyceum in Sheffield as I was 32 years old when it first appeared on film in 1987 and was a huge success, I really hoped it would bring back the ‘feel good factor’ I had back then!  I was not disappointed!  I did worry about the two main characters, who were originally played by Patrick Swayze (Johny Castle) and Jennifer Grey (Francis’ Baby’ Houseman) as, in my opinion, they would be very hard to beat.
Again I was not disappointed!  Michael O’Reilly (who played Johny) and Kira Malou (who played ‘Baby’) were excellent and emulated the original pair to perfection.

Now onto the story:
At the heart of the performance is two fiercely independent young spirits from very different worlds who come together in the summer of 1963 when they both find themselves at the ‘Kellermans’ holiday resort.  It is a story of ‘class’, coming of age and being true to yourself and your beliefs. ‘Baby’ is at the resort with her family (Dad, Dr Jake Houseman played by Jack Loy, Mum, Majorie Houseman played by Taryn Sudding and sister Lisa Houseman played by Daisy Steere), they are a fairly ‘well-to-do’ family and are there at the invitation of the owner, Max Kellerman (played by Mark McKerracher). Johny is there as part of the lowlier entertainment crew who are tasked with keeping the quests happy with dance lessons, other ‘perks’! and at any cost.

When the dancers are ‘off duty’ they ditch the sedate dances that they teach the clientele and enjoy much wilder moves which, when ‘Baby’ stumbles across them both intrigues and fascinates her. She tries to help one of Johnny’s close friends Penny (played by Georgia Aspinall) who finds herself pregnant by Robbie (played by Callum Fitzgerald) by involving her dad and this action brings lots of confusion and crossed wires. This situation and others that ‘Baby’ finds herself in challenges her long held beliefs about herself and her family. Whilst trying to help Penny ‘Baby’ needs to learn to dance and this is when her relationship with Johnny develops and when she learns more about how the class war is all around her. This was very cleverly portrayed and is believable due to the portrayal by all concerned and on both sides of the fence. It was very relevant when first shown nearly 35 years ago and I think still relevant today just maybe not in the same circumstances and situations as shown here?

It all comes to a head when Johnny is accused of stealing and ‘Baby’ tells the truth about them being together to stop him from being fired, he is fired anyway!! This makes ‘Baby’ very angry at the injustice of the whole situation, but Johnny is adamant that her standing up for him and telling everybody how she feels is one of the best things anybody has ever done for him. Sadly, after an emotional goodbye he leaves!

‘Baby’ and her family are sitting on their last night at Kellermans waiting for the final dance when Johnny comes through the audience (very close to my seat!) and jumps onto the stage:
“Nobody puts ‘Baby’ in the corner”, yeeeah! The audience went wild!
The dancing was spectacular, everyone was brilliant, however I feel a special mention must go to Georgia Aspinall (Penny) on her unbelievable performance and very, very long legs! The same goes for the singing and music, brilliant performances by all the cast but with a special mention to Tito Suarez (played by Colin Charles), Billy Kostecki (played by Danny Colligan) and Kellerman’s Band ( Gabriel Askew, Morgan Burgess, Tom Mussell, Tom Parsons and Tim Wade). There was also a particularly funny and entertaining song and dance by ‘Baby’s’ sister Lisa that had me, my friend and the audience laughing out loud. In fact the whole performance was excellent, funny poignant and very very entertaining it has stood the test of time and made a now 68 year old very happy!

The show was produced by Karl Sydow in association with Lionsgate and Magic Hour Productions, written by Eleanor Bergstein, directed by Fedirico Bellone and choregraphed by Austin Wilks. All the supported cast also did an amazing job. The show runs for 2 hours 15 minutes.

The Lyceum in Sheffield is a lovely ornate theatre that has a small selection of food and drink, a very pleasant atmosphere and helpful friendly staff.

Rating: 5/5

Dirty Dancing is on from Tuesday 11th July till Saturday 15th July at 7.45pm, 2p.m, 5 p.m. 8.30 p.m. and 3 p.m. and offers a number of ‘accessible’ performances. Please check the website: https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Dirty Dancing is at Lyceum Theatre 55,Norfolk Street, S11DA
Box Office: 01142496000