Photo Coverage: Dirty Dancing Opens in London
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 25, 2006
Dirty Dancing officially opened last night, October 24th, at the West End's Aldwych Theatre in London. The musical is based on the 1987 film of the same name. Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Joanna Lumley were among the starry arrivals.
Directed by James Powell, the possibly Broadway-bound show stars 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, once again plays 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 Hamburg, Germany.
The film's screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein has written 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 musical retains many numbers from the film.
Photos by Retna Ltd.
Arrivals
Judi Dench and Finity Williams
Graham Norton
Judi Dench and Graham Norton
Trisha Goddard
Jenni Falconer
Tamara Beckwith
Georgina Rich
Andrew Lloyd Webber and wife
Josef Brown and guest
Abi Titmuss
Linzi Stoppard
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Hofit Golan and Scott Henshall
Paula Wilcox
Brendan Cole
Liz Fuller
Stage Shots
Georgina Rich and Josef Brown
Josef Brown and Nadia Coote
Josef Brown and Georgina Rich
Nadia Coote and Josef Brown
Josef Brown and Nadia Coote
Georgina Rich and Josef Brown
Josef Brown and Nadia Coote
Josef Brown and Nadia Coote
Josef Brown, Georgina Rich, and Nadia Coote
Georgina Rich and Josef Brown
Georgina Rich
