Lifting figures, quiffs and waving clothes: The revised stage version of “Dirty Dancing” has everything that made the original a cult film – but also tries not to lose sight of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
Frances “Baby” Houseman (Deike Darrelmann) spins, skirts flowing, to the music at the resort staff’s party, Kellerman’s. The scene darkens, only Baby is illuminated by a fading spotlight – and the next second she is participating in the hotel’s leisure program together with other guests in broad daylight. Scene transitions like this – dynamic, flowing and not perceptible as such – are what make the newly adapted stage version of the cult film “Dirty Dancing” from 1987 what it is. Although the ensemble is constantly on the move, director Alex Balga, with the help of stage design, changes in lighting and skillful placement of the actors, manages to captivate the audience in such a way that the structure of the next scene is not noticeable. Music and dance create an inescapable pull as the audience witnesses doctor’s daughter Baby and penniless dancer Johnny Castle (Máté Gyenei) fall in love in the summer of 1963.
The show, an almost exact copy of the film, skilfully imitates the film montage, which only runs a bit bumpy in the second act, which is less dynamic because it is loaded with heavier themes. The original music is off tape, as is some of the vocals. What remains is the wish to be able to hear the live singing of lead singer Bente Mulan Nanayakkara more often. In terms of quality, the drama is behind the dance, but the main actress Darrelmann, who captures Jennifer Grey’s charisma from the film down to the smallest detail, is remembered. Additional scenes give “Baby’s” parents and the sleazy hotel heir Neil, who is exaggerated in a nuanced way by Niklas Schurz and suddenly wants to demonstrate for the rights of the black population of the USA, more depth. 1963 was also the year of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech. The revision of the stage version, which premiered in 2004, tries to remind the audience that, in addition to the conflict between the upper and lower classes, racism must not be forgotten. To what extent the audience perceives this alongside the story remains open. But fans will be convinced of the overall work, at the latest when the first watermelon can be seen.
“Dirty Dancing – The Original Live on Tour”, until March 26, German Theater MunichSchwanthalerstrasse 13