Jill Winternitz, Paul-Michael Jones & More to Lead West End's DIRTY DANCING

The producers of the worldwide phenomenon Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage have just announced details of the principal cast and company, who will take to the stage in the West End return of this record-breaking smash hit show from Saturday 13 July at London's Piccadilly Theatre.

American actress Jill Winternitz, from the current touring cast of Dirty Dancing, will continue in the iconic leading role of 'Baby Houseman', the innocent teenager who goes on a voyage of discovery during her summer at Kellerman's. Jill trained at RADA and her theatre credits include 'Ophelia' in Hamlet and 'The Prioress' in The Canterbury Tales (Queen Mary 2); Wounded (Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble); 'Nina' in The Seagull (MXAT) and Sunday in the Park with George (Interlochen Center for the Arts).

Manchester born Paul-Michael Jones will reprise his role as the much-loved 'Johnny Castle'. Paul-Michael has been part of the Dirty Dancing national tour cast since 2011, wowing audiences up and down the country with his portrayal of one of the most enduring roles in popular culture. Having trained at Laine Theatre Arts, graduating in 2007, Paul-Michael's theatre credits include 'Eddie' in Mamma Mia! (Prince of Wales); understudying and performing the roles of 'Jake' and 'Adrian' in Never Forget (UK tour); 'Jack' in Jack & The Beanstalk (Victoria Theatre, Halifax); We Will Rock You (Cologne) and dance captain in Fame - the Musical (European tour). He has also represented England as a Latin American and Ballroom Dancer, as one of the top two English couples, at The World Championships in Singapore.

Charlotte Gooch will take on the role of dancer 'Penny Johnson', having played the part in the 2011-2012 Dirty Dancing touring cast as well as in the Berlin production, and understudying the role in the original London show. Hailing from Guildford in Surrey, Charlotte's most recent performance was playing the leading role of 'Dale Tremont' in Top Hat at the Aldwych in London, following a UK tour of Grease playing the part of Patty Simcox. Dancing since the age of 3 under the tutelage of her aunt at the Godalming School of Dance, Charlotte trained at Laine Theatre Arts and her theatre credits include 'Bombalurina' in Cats (European tour), dance partner to Anton Du Beke in the workshop of Swing Time: The Dance Musical (Sadler's Wells); Fly with the Stars (Palladium); the title role in Cinderella (De La Ware Pavillion, Bexhill); 'Genie of the Ring' in Aladdin (North Wales Theatre, Llandudno) and 'Annabel Glick' in Lucky Stiff! directed by Tudor Davies (LTA Studio Theatre).

The London company will also include: Colin Charles ('Tito Suarez'), James Coombes ('Dr. Jake Houseman'), Mark Faith ('Mr Schumacher'), Stefan Menaul ('Neil Kellerman'), Julia J Nagle ('Marjorie Houseman'), Michael Remick ('Max Kellerman'), Wayne Smith ('Billy Kostecki') and EmiLia Williams ('Lisa Houseman') plus an ensemble cast comprising of Jonathan Cordin, Gemma Fuller, Rebecca Hodge, Faisal Khodabukus, Callum Nicol, Rosa O'Reilly, Adam Philpott, Kate-Emma Portlock, Stephanie Powell, Joseph Prouse, AaRon Richardson, Claire Rogers, Russell Smith, Lizzie Stavrou, Will Tyler and Tara Verloop.

Dirty Dancing opened at the Aldwych Theatre in 2006 with a record-breaking advance of £15 million - making it the fastest ever selling show in West End theatre history. The production became the longest running show in the history of the famous Aldwych Theatre and played to over 2 million people during its triumphant 5 year run. A hit show all around the world, Dirty Dancing has opened in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore, consistently breaking box office records. The first ever national tour also smashed sales records all around the country and, due to overwhelming demand, a new UK tour will launch in March 2014.

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