The play was presented at LIU on Friday and Saturday, January 5 and 6. On Friday there was an evening show, and on Saturday there were a matinee and an evening show. My wife and I attended the matinee show.
The theater -- the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts -- seats 2,242. I estimate that at least 100 seats were empty.
So, if you want to see the play in the theater nearest your home, don't assume that all the seats are already sold out.
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My wife and I sat in the middle of the "V" row, which I calculate as the 22nd row. The seat on each side of ours were empty. The seven seats directly in front of ours were empty.
The play was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., and it began precisely at that time, even though about half of the seats in the auditorium still were empty. When the play began, my wife and I decided that we would wait for a while and then sneak forward about ten rows.
However, as the play was beginning, large numbers of people continued to come into the auditorium and take their seats. This distracting commotion continued until the watermelon scene. By that time, the auditorium's middle was largely filled, and so my wife and I had to give up our plan to sneak forward.
The decision to begin the play precisely at 2 p.m, even though half the audience still had not taken their seats, was a bad decision.
I think that a lot of people came late because they could not find the theater, which is on the LIU campus. My wife and I drove back and forth on the main highway looking for the theater. I had to stop a FedEx driver and ask him for directions. Fortunately we came to the area early enough that -- despite our difficulty finding the theater -- we arrived an hour before the show began.
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When we did come into the the theater building, my first impression was that everyone there was quite old. I am 65 years old (I received the tickets as a birthday present), and most of the people in the lobby looked older than me. I figured that old people have enough sense and free time to arrive very early for such an event.
However, as I looked at the audience during and after the play, I saw that most of the audience was old people. I would estimate that the median age was about 60. I expected to see a lot of teenage girls in the audience, but there were very few.
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My wife and I both liked the play. I recommend it. In my subsequent posts I will explain why I liked it.
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The music was played by a live band, which never was seen by the audience. For most of the play, I thought that all the music was recorded. Toward the end, I realized that a band was playing. When the cast was taking their final bows, they all pointed to the stage's side, where the band was playing.
I suppose that the band is seen in theaters that have an orchestra pit (which this theater did not have).
The sound system was superb. The music was clear even though the band was backstage. All the dialogue was clear.
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The stage's background is a huge painting of a lake and mountains.
That background was visible during most of the play. In some scenes, a pair of stage-high, wooden curtains moved toward the stage's center to cover that background. (In the above video, the curtains are made of fabric, but in the LIU theater's performance, the curtains were made of wood.)
Even during those brief coverings of the background, at least some of that background remained visible, because the wooden curtains did not close completely.
That lake-and-mountains background was a wonderful aspect of the play. The background created a feeling that the action was taking place outside or taking place in a room with a large window overlooking the lake.
In the scene where Baby Houseman and Johnny Castle practice their lift movement in the lake, a transparent fabric was stretched about waist-high across the entire stage, creating a delightful illusion that they were standing in water.
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Aside from that spectacular background, the scenery and props were minimal. For example, for the scenes that took place in Penny Johnson's cabin, there was just a door frame and a bed. As another example, for the scene at the Sheldrake Hotel, the audience consisted of only two tables.
Several scenes took place on movable scenery. For example, the "Wipeout" scene where Baby practices dancing on a bridge and the "Hey, Baby" scene were Baby and Johnny practice on a log were performed on scenery that was rolled out onto the stage. Johnny cabin was a platform that was rolled out onto the stage.
I liked this minimal, movable scenery. The story moved smoothly from scene to scene without stopping to set up props and scenery. The minimal scenery sufficed for people who have seen the movie many times. A person who never has seen the movie might be mystified, however, by the settings.
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The intermission happened right after Baby and Johnny got into his bed in his cabin for the first time.
The play's story and dialogue up to the intermission were very similar to the movie's. The story progressed quickly during this first half, but people in the audience who knew the story could follow it. Someone who never had seen the movie probably would have wondered what was happening (especially because of the distracting commotion of audience members coming into the theater late).
After the intermission, the story and dialogue differed much from the movie's.
I'll write more about the differences in my future posts.
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The female characters playing hotel guests were dressed in the flared dresses that were common in the late 1950s.
These dresses were flowery and brightly colored. These costumes were visually delightful.
The one male character whose costume was visually remarkable was Robbie Gould, in his madras jacket, similar to the movie's jacket.
Other than Robbie, all the male characters wore plain suits. (The actor who played Robbie did a great performance.)
All the glamorous costumes were worn by the female guests.
Baby's costumes in the play were plainer than her costumes in the movie.
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In past decades, a successful stage play was converted into a movie. For example, Oklahoma played on Broadway for a few years and then was converted into a movie.
Now the opposite conversion is becoming more common. A successful movie -- for example, Dirty Dancing -- is converted into a stage play.
It seems to me that stories that developed initially as stage plays employed humor more in order to engage the audiences into the stories. The play would make the audience laugh aloud from the beginning. There is more slapstick.
The movie Dirty Dancing includes many amusing moments, but it is not a laugh-out-loud funny movie. Now that the movie has been converted into this stage play, the audience watches the play silently. The first time that the audience reacted audibly was when Johnny said "nobody puts Baby into a corner", when the audience cheered. Then during the "Time of My Life" dance, the audience clapped along to the music.
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The acting, dancing and singing were excellent.
Of course, you have to get used to the play's characters looking different from the movie's characters.
Baby's hair was brunette but just wavy -- not extravagantly curly and frizzy like Jennifer Grey's.
The actor who played Jake Houseman was too young for the role. He wore a beard to look older, but he looked (to me) to be in his thirties.
There is a Mr. Schumacher, but no Mrs. Schumacher. He is a more prominent character in the play than in the movie.
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In my following posts about the play, I will write about how it differed from the movie. In general, I liked the differences.
I did not take notes or record sound during the play. I surely will forget or confuse some details as I write just from my memory.
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Again, I recommend this play. The tour continues through April 29. Don't assume that the performances are sold out. Phone numbers to call about tickets are at that webpage.
Augusta, GA -- Jan 8======
Lakeland, FL -- Jan 10
Niceville, FL -- Jan 11
The Villages, FL -- Jan 12 and 13
Panama City, FL -- Jan 14
Daytona Beach, FL -- Jan 16
Pensacola, FL -- Jan 18
Jackson, MD -- Jan 20
Lafayette, LA -- Jan 21
Paducah, KY -- Jan 23
Portsmouth, OH -- Jan 24
Lima, OH -- Jan 25
Lexington, KY -- Jan 26 - 28
Wheeling, WV -- Jan 29
Wilkes-Barre, PA -- Jan 31 - Feb 1
Pueblo, CO -- Feb 7
Cheyenne, WY -- Feb 7
San Diego, CA -- Feb 9 - 11
Bozeman, MT -- Feb 13
Great Falls, MT -- Feb 14
Palm Desert, CA -- Feb 18
Abilene, TX -- Mar 6
Amarillo, TX -- March 7 - 8
Lubbock, TX -- March 9 - 10
El Paso, TX -- March 11 - 12
Midland, TX -- March 13 - 14
Shreveport, LA -- March 16
Little Rock, AR -- March 17 - 18
Salisbury, MD -- March 20
University Park, PA -- March 21-22
Hershey, PA -- March 23 - 25
Red Bank, NJ -- March 27 - 29
Richmond, VA -- March 30 - Apr 1
Wilmington, DE -- Apr 3 - 8
Erie, PA -- April 9
Evansville, IN -- Apr 11
Schenectady, NY -- April 13 - 14
Binghamton, NY -- Apr 15
Butte, MT -- Apr 22
Idaho Falls, ID -- Apr 23
Missoula, MT -- Apr 24
Kennewick, WA -- Apr 25
Spolane, WA -- Apr 26 - 29
This post is the first in a series of posts, which will continue
2) My Review of the Stage Musical -- Race.
3) My Review of the Stage Musical -- Romance
4) My Review of the Stage Musical -- Comparison of Songs
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