Roseanna Frascona plays Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman in the touring production of Dirty Dancing at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
Dirty Dancing plays at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield until 3 May and continues touring until 25 April 2015.
It’s said the writer Eleanor Bergstein picked the music for the original 1987 Dirty Dancing film from her old 45’s before writing the script. This wonderful sixties music pumps through Sarah Tipple’s production at the Lyceum – from the excellent live band on a platform above the stage, to the scratchy tunes from an old record player that makes an appearance from time to time.
And then there’s the dancing: from the sensual merengue to the infectious cha cha cha. Hats off to choreographer Kate Champion for squeezing so many energetic dancers on to such a small stage. Energy levels do start to sap after the interval, but thankfully return in time for the finale.
It is a tricky business turning a well-loved movie into live theatre but Jon Driscoll (video and projection designer), whose credits include Ghost the Musical, has one or two tricks up his sleeve. Using an image of a lake during the scene when Baby and Johnny Castle practice their dance lift is a particularly effective technique… and the audience loved it.
With Gareth Bailey injured, the role of Johnny Castle fell to Lewis Kirk. It takes a brave man to strip down to his boxer shorts in front of a Sheffield crowd but, after a nervous start, his confidence grew with every scene. There was palpable onstage chemistry between Kirk and co-star Roseanna Frascona (playing Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman) which no doubt helped.
Frascona may be slight, but she has a powerful comic heart. Her journey from shy virgin to confident young woman is utterly convincing.
Jessie-Lou Yates (Baby’s sister, Lisa) gives a stand-out performance, her hula dancing and off-key singing getting the biggest laugh of the night. Alexander Wolfe pulls off an excellent Neil Kellerman, suitably awkward in his high-waisted pants and starched white shirt, combining hotel management zeal with some inelegant dad dancing.
Flitting about the main characters is Mark Faith as the enthusiastic wallet thief, Mr Schumacher, a performance reminiscent of comic actor Jacques Tati in the films of Monsieur Hulot. Praise must also go to the two singers, Colin Charles (as Tito Suarez) and Wayne Smith (playing Billy Kostecki), who manage to draw attention away from the two leads on a number of occasions.
Bergstein says she never wanted to “just slap a movie on stage”, instead she hopes the audience will share the moment with the actors, dancers, singers and musicians. This is most successful in the finale. The sound of Johnny’s car drawing up echoes around the theatre. When he struts from the back of the Lyceum and reaches the stage, the audience become holiday-makers at Kellerman’s Hotel. We cheer and wolf whistle as Johnny picks up Baby from the corner and they finally perfect that lift.
Katie Galbraith
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