Dirty Dancing
a sell-out on stage
Terri Judd

Almost 20 years after Patrick Swayze’s portrayal of a brooding dance instructor, the stage version that Dirty Dancing inspired has sold out before the cast has even been selected.

In just six weeks, the musical — which opens at London’s Aldwych Theatre on October 24 — has sold out for the first two months of its run with ticket sales of more than £3m.

"This show has become the fastest to achieve such a level of sales in such a short time, this is unprecedented demand," said a spokesman.

Written by the film’s scriptwriter, Eleanor Bergstein, who worked her way through university teaching ballroom dancing, it remains faithful to the 1987 celluloid coming-of-age story. Set in the 1960s, it charts the romance between a 17-year-old doctor’s daughter, Frances "Baby" Houseman, who yearns to join the Peace Corps and the broody, working-class dance instructor Johnny Castle (Swayze) she meets while on holiday with her family.

"The show has everything from the film and more," said Bergstein.

Having already seen 3,000 hopefuls, the producers are still auditioning and, in the words of a spokesman, the "search for Johnny and Baby" continues.

The film was one of the great successes of the late 1980s, the fifth-highest grossing film of 1987 and the first million-selling video. The soundtrack, which featured the Oscar-winning theme tune Time of My Life, sold 39 million copies. Earlier this year it was voted women’s favourite "comfort" film.

While a 2004 sequel Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights proved a flop, producers are hoping Dirty Dancing — The Classic Story on Stage will match the theatrical success of the production in Australia, where it has broken box office records with ticket sales close to one million.

The show’s producer, Kevin Jacobsen, said: "Eleanor’s story is a gift to the theatre world, it feels like its home should have always been on stage.
The music, the dancing and the cast ensure that our audiences are always on their feet at the close of the show."

Earlier, Covent Garden was besieged by thousands of hopefuls from around the country, all vying to star in the stage production. Closed auditions are now being held to make the final selection for the leading characters.

The producers say they are promising even more "visually stunning, passionate and energetic dance routines with soaring live vocal arrangements."

Bergstein explained: "I started writing the moving with the 1960s music already in mind. I picked each song and wrote the lines of dialogue against the lines of lyric and melody. It was the time of one’s life when one could not separate a conversation from the music playing on the radio."

— By arrangement with The Independent

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