London Dirty Dancing Extends Run; May Be Bway-Bound

The upcoming London production of the musical Dirty Dancing, which has been raking in millons of pounds at the box office, has extended its run at the Aldwych Theatre by six months, according to Variety.  It may also be Broadway-bound.

The show, which begins previews on September 29th and opens on October 24th, was originally announced for a run through April 7th, 2007, but will now run through October of that year.  The production has earned £4.5 million ($8.3 million) in advance sales, so far, based on the popularity of the movie on which it's based.

Although nothing has been confirmed, the article states that "Kevin Jacobsen (of Australia's Jacobsen Co.) is looking at a North American opening, possibly Toronto, prior to Broadway."

Directed by James Powell, the show will star Georgina Rich (Honour on the West End) as Frances "Baby" Houseman, who while attending a holiday camp, falls for a hunky dance instructor. Dancer Josef Brown, who created the role of Johnny in the previous Australian production of Dirty Dancing, will once again play that role. Brown played opposite Kym Valentine in the musical, which toured after premiering in Sydney in 2004.  Dirty Dancing, which was originally workshopped in New York in 2001, also received a smash production in Munich, Germany.

The film's screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein has signed on to write Dirty Dancing's libretto. The 1987 movie smash, directed by Emile Ardolino and starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, featured a variety of '60s musical hits, such as "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Hungry Eyes," and "Do You Love Me?"

"The show stays faithful to the original story but includes more scenes about Baby's parents, the political period and the character of Neil, who pursues Baby," according to an earlier London Theatre Guide article. Dirty Dancing will also retain many of the numbers from the film. It will be choreographed by Kate Champion, with set design by Stephen Brimson-Lewis and musical supervision by Conrad Helfrich.

Visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk for tickets.