‘Dirty Dancing’ puts Baby live on stage of Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Jan. 31, Feb. 1
From a press release:
“Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage,” a staged production of the worldwide smash-hit film with live music, will bring two performances to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Monday, Jan. 31 and Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018.
Tickets, which are $45, $55, and $65, plus fees, go on sale this Friday, Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Kirby Center box office (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre), online at kirbycenter.org, and by phone at 570-826-1100. An exclusive Kirby Member pre-sale begins on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 10 a.m.
“Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage” is an unprecedented live experience, exploding with heart-pounding music played live by an eight-piece onstage band, passionate romance, and sensational dancing. Seen by millions across the globe, this timeless love story features the hit songs “Hungry Eyes,” “Hey Baby,” “Do You Love Me?” and the heart-stopping “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” London’s Sunday Express says, “This crowd-pleasing stage adaptation hits the jackpot!”
It’s the summer of 1963, and 17-year-old Frances “Baby” Houseman is on vacation in New York’s Catskill Mountains with her older sister and parents. Mesmerized by the racy dance moves and pounding rhythms she discovers in the resort’s staff quarters, Baby can’t wait to be part of the scene, especially when she catches sight of Johnny Castle, the resort’s sexy dance instructor. Passions ignite and Baby’s life changes forever when she is thrown in to the deep end as Johnny’s leading lady, both on-stage and off.
“As I learned how many people watched the movie over and over and over, I began to think that what they really wanted was to share more physically in the event, to step through the screen and be there while the story was happening,” said Eleanor Bergstein, screenwriter of the film “Dirty Dancing” and book writer for the production.
“And if that was true, then its natural form was theatre – live audiences watching live bodies dancing and singing here and now in the present – on the log, on the bridge, on the dance floor, and in the staff quarters at Kellerman’s. Writing it for the stage, I was also able to add more Baby and Johnny scenes, more about the family, more songs I couldn’t afford last time and, best of all, more dancing. I have added 20 new original scenes, 36 numbers of live music, and an eight-piece band onstage to invite the audience to come into Kellerman’s and experience the story as a live event as it happens.”
“’Dirty Dancing’ is one of our most beloved and timeless properties,” said Lionsgate Television Group’s President Sandra Stern. “Its magic has enchanted audiences on film, television, DVD, and digital platforms alike, and it remains a perennial bestseller in our film and television library. We’re delighted to participate in the latest stage incarnation that will introduce ‘Dirty Dancing’ to a whole new generation of fans, and we expect the stage play to prove yet again that nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
The production’s book is written by Eleanor Bergstein, and the North American tour will be directed by Sarna Lapine with choreography by Michele Lynch based on the original choreography by Kate Champion.
“Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage” began as an eight-week staged workshop in Manhattan in the fall of 2001. It was first performed at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia in November 2004 before embarking upon a hugely successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. A new production opened at the Theater Neue Flora in Hamburg, Germany in March 2006, where it broke records for achieving the highest advance in European history.
The production began performances on London’s West End in October 2006 with an £11 million advance and went on to become the longest running show in the history of the Aldwych Theatre. It closed in July 2011 in advance of a two-year U.K. national tour and then returned to London for a strictly limited season at the Piccadilly Theatre.
The show has gone on to perform across the world in markets as diverse as Utrecht, Holland, Johannesburg, and Cape Town, South Africa. Most recently, it has been represented by a new U.K. tour (which launched in March 2014 in Bristol), a German tour (launched in April 2014 in Berlin), and an Italian production (launched in October 2014 in Milan). The show returned to Australia with a new tour that premiered in late 2014 in honor of the stage production’s 10th anniversary.
“Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage” recently concluded its three-year Equity tour on Sunday, June 25, 2017 in Salt Lake City.
