Nobody's Putting Baby in a Corner with this Tour

The reviews are in and Dirty Dancing: The Musical had a dazzling opening at St. Paul’s Ordway Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Minnesota Star Tribune writes that “every familiar moment drew a roar, as if Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey had somehow materialized in the room.”

Blake Zelesnikar (Johnny Castle) and the *Dirty Dancing: The Musical* Company. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Set against the unforgettable summer of 1963, Dirty Dancing: The Musical follows Frances “Baby” Houseman as she discovers love, passion and independence through her relationship with charismatic dance instructor Johnny Castle. With live music from the original film, Dirty Dancing: The Musical is the feel-good escape audiences have been craving, alive with the pulse of electrified dancing, the thrill of secret encounters and the allure of forbidden romance.

Blake Zelesnikar (Johnny Castle) and Olivia Cece (Penny Johnson). Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Featuring Blake Zelesnikar as iconic bad-boy dance instructor Johnny Castle and Annalese Starzec as the awkward, determined Baby, “[They] generate actual chemistry and when the moment comes for the movie’s famous dance lift, they nail it” (Minnesota Star Tribune).

For over two decades, producers have attempted to turn the beloved 1987 film into a musical built for the stage. This latest adaptation features direction from Lonny Price, who originated the role of Neil Kellermann in the movie, as well as choreography from Darrell Grand Moultrie and writing from original screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein.

Blake Zelesnikar (Johnny Castle) and Annalese Starzec (Frances “Baby” Houseman). Photo by Matthew Murphy.

The show includes many of the iconic moments from the movie that fans will be thrilled to see while still remembering to include the storytelling of it all. Once the final dance comes, the theater knows what to expect and the cast delivers as Johnny and Baby take the stage, the familiar music plays, and the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives.

Aside from the iconic lift, the musical has received raving reviews for both the choreography as well as the production design. “This latest incarnation comes armed with wall-to-wall music, grab-you-by-the-loins dancing and cinematic transitions that whisk us through the 80-plus scenes without inducing whiplash” the Minnesota Star Tribune writes.