Cast Announced for DIRTY DANCING at the Fox Theatre in March

The producers of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage announced casting for the third year of the North American Tour, which coincides with the film's 30th anniversary. Christopher Tierney, having originally performed the role of Johnny Castle during the 2015 Toronto engagement, returned to the show during it most recent North American tour and will once again thrill audiences alongside the fast-rising young star Bronwyn Reed as Frances "Baby" Houseman.

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage performs at the Fox Theatre from Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 25; as part of the Fifth Third Bank Fox Theatre Series.

Tierney and Reed lead a company of 26 that includes Matthew Amira as Robbie (The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Ogunquit Playhouse), Jordan Edwin André as Billy Kostecki/Singer (West Side Story - Regional), Alyssa Brizzi as Lisa Houseman (Beauty and the Beast - National Tour), Jerome Harmann-Hardeman as Tito Suarez (The Full Monty), Jennifer Mealani Jones as Penny Johnson ("So You Think You Can Dance" season 10), Gary Lynch as Max Kellerman (LES MISERABLES), Hannah Jane McMurray as Marjorie Houseman (Peter Pan 360 - National Tour), Jon Powell as Dr. Jake Houseman (The Rose Bowl Queens - LA), Alan Scharf as Mr. Schumacher (Take Her - National Tour) and Matt Surges as Neil Kellerman (A Funny Thing Happened... - Regional). The ensemble comprises Matthew Borchers, Kristian Brooks, Henry Byalikov, Kellie Drobnick, Jenifer Dillow, Lindsey Hailes, Kevin Mylrea, John Swapshire, Anjelica Fellini, Michal Kolaczkowski, Sophie Lee Morris, Julz Tocker and D. Scott Withers. Additional casting to be announced in the coming days.

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage features an eight piece band that performs the timeless hits on stage, led by Conductor Alan J. Plado (Keyboard) and Associate Conductor Julie Homi (Keyboard). The band also includes Matt Brown (Guitar), Brian Krock (Saxophone), Rich Donato (Drums), Miles Lassi (Percussion), Brad Lovelace (Bass) and Michael Robb (Trumpet).

The production's book is written by Eleanor Bergstein, author of the original script of the film, and the North American tour is directed by James Powell with choreography by Michele Lynch based on the original choreography by Kate Champion. The creative team also includes Stephen Brimson Lewis (Set Design), Tim Mitchell (Lighting Design), Jennifer Irwin (Costume Design), Bobby Aitken (Sound Design), Jon Driscoll (Video and Projection Design), Bernie Ardia (Hair Design), Conrad Helfrich (Music Supervisor and Orchestrations) and Alan Plado (Music Director).

"As I learned how many people watched the movie over and over and over," said Eleanor Bergstein, screenwriter of the film Dirty Dancing and book writer for the production, "I began to think that what they really wanted was to share more physically in the event, to step through the screen and be there while the story was happening. And if that was true, then its natural form was theatre - live audiences watching live bodies dancing and singing here and now in the present - on the log, on the bridge, on the dance floor and in the staff quarters at Kellerman's. Writing it for the stage, I was also able to add more scenes with Baby and Johnny, more about the family, more songs I couldn't afford last time, and, best of all - more dancing. We have added 20 new original scenes and 36 numbers of live music played by an eight piece band onstage, which invite the audience to come into Kellerman's and experience the story in a whole new way as a live event as it happens."

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage is an unprecedented live experience, exploding with heart-pounding music, passionate romance and sensational dancing. Seen by millions across the globe, this timeless love story features the hit songs "Hungry Eyes," "Hey Baby," "Do You Love Me?" and the heart-stopping "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life." London's Sunday Express says "This crowd-pleasing stage adaptation hits the jackpot!"

It's the summer of 1963, and 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is on vacation in New York's Catskill Mountains with her older sister and parents. Mesmerized by the racy dance moves and pounding rhythms she discovers in the resort's staff quarters, Baby can't wait to be part of the scene, especially when she catches sight of Johnny Castle, the resort's sexy dance instructor. Passions ignite and Baby's life changes forever when she is thrown in to the deep end as Johnny's leading lady, both on-stage and off.

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage was first performed at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia in November 2004 before embarking upon a hugely successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. A new production opened at the Theater Neue Flora in Hamburg, Germany in March 2006 where it broke records for achieving the highest advance in European history.
The production, having begun performances on London's West End in October 2006 with a record breaking £15 million advance and a complete sell-out for the first six months, went on to become the longest running show in the history of the Aldwych Theatre. It closed in July 2011 in advance of a two-year UK national tour and then returned to London for a strictly limited season at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage continued its success with its commercial premiere in the Western Hemisphere in Toronto at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on November 15, 2007. The engagement ended on March 29, 2009, having performed to over 800,000 people. Shortly before the show closed in Toronto, the production's first North American tour began, making its debut in Chicago on September 2, 2008 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre and continuing on to Boston and Los Angeles. The show returned to Australia with a new smash hit tour that premiered in late 2014 in honor of the stage production's 10th anniversary.

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage has also been performed across the world in markets as diverse as Hong Kong, Sweden, Utrecht, Holland, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. The show has been represented in other major markets, including a UK tour (launched March 2014 in Bristol), a German tour (launched April 2014 in Berlin) and an Italian production (launched October 2014 in Milan). Following the Italian tour's premier in Milan, the production sold out the 15,000 seat Roman Arena in Verona and went on to receive critical acclaim for its engagement in the capital city of Rome. With additional sold out engagements in Paris and Vienna, the show continues to tour in France and German speaking territories. The French tour alone has played to over 500,000 people since its launch in January 2015.

Due to an overwhelming demand for tickets in the UK, a new production of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage premiers at Blackpool Opera House on August 11, 2016, having already sold 150,000 tickets since its on-sale, and will continue on to cities such as Manchester, Dublin, Berkshire, Bradford, Londonderry and many others.

The present North American tour, having launched in Washington, DC at The National Theatre on August 25, 2014, has played over 40 cities including: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Minneapolis, San Antonio, Austin, New Orleans, Seattle, Costa Mesa, Charlotte, Tampa, San Diego, Las Vegas, Boston, Cleveland and many more. The third season of this tour coincides with the 30th anniversary of the original story on screen.

The North American tour of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage is produced by Amber Jacobsen, NETworks Presentations LLC, Grove Entertainment and Col Joye in association with Lionsgate and Magic Hour Productions.

For more information, please visit http://us.dirtydancingontour.com/.

To post a comment, you must register and login.