Review: Dirty Dancing

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Dirty Dancing.
I had not seen the film of Dirty Dancing (long before my time!), but wanted to add more musicals to the marathon so went see it on New Years Eve. Before you ask, yes, I did have the time of my life. It was the perfect way to celebrate the end of 2016 ( which has been a great year for me). I absolutely adored the storyline! I can see why so many people love the film, it has loveable characters to root for and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. I could not tell what would happen next, the show manages to keep the audience on their toes, whilst still having the time of their lives (these jokes are too easy to make). I'm very curious to watch the movie now and to see how it compares to the show. From what I've heard, the show is extremely accurate and is basically the movie onstage. The choreography is excellent and the show features the best dancing I have seen since On Your Feet in New York. They have many glorious dancers in the cast! Cast members who stood out were Katie Hartland as Frances 'Baby' Houseman, Lewis Griffiths as Johnny Castle, Carlie Milner as Penny Johnson and Michael Kent as Billy Kostecki. I know that the show has been on tour so I expected the set to be minimal, but I was really surprised. The set was fantastic with a large attention to detail. It was a revolving set, which I always love! The orchestra were onstage and were integrated into the show (they were supposed to be the local band at the hotel where the show takes place), which I thought was such a great idea. It always adds to the excitement when you can see the orchestra onstage. The show isn't really a musical, I suppose it could be considered a play with songs, but the live music was great and I've even bought the album of the last stage production of Dirty Dancing (this production hasn't released an album). The final number was fantastically staged and it seemed that the cast were having the time of their lives (OK, I'll stop with those jokes now!). It's a shame that the show was playing in the West End for such a short amount of time, but hopefully it'll be back next Christmas! My only critique for the show is the sound design. Maybe there was a fault, but there were a few songs that sounded a little distorted, specifically the pre-recorded ones. Perhaps this could've been avoided by having all songs done live?

The featured star of Dirty Dancing is, drum roll please... KATIE HARTLAND!

Katie is a star! Far ahead of all the other performers, she gave the strongest acting in the show and was a superb dancer too. I was rooting for her character, Baby, throughout the entire show and this was thanks to Katie's convincing performance of Baby. She was remarkable!

Now for my final verdict on Dirty Dancing. I give Dirty Dancing...

I give this rating because the show has a storyline that I loved and dazzling dancing. Due to the sound design and a few other issues, it doesn't get my top mark, but I still adored it and I recommend it to the people of Germany, where the show will be heading  next.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Join me next time when I will be reviewing Lazarus.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer