Monday 30 March 2015

Get Ready For The Time Of Your Life

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Liverpool Empire Theatre

Following its phenomenal run in 2012, the record-breaking sensation Dirty Dancing returns next week to Liverpool Empire for three weeks only.

Diane Belding, Liverpool Empire General Manager, commented: "We're delighted that Dirty Dancing is returning to the Liverpool Empire in 2015. The audience response in 2012 was unparalleled to anything that had come before it and I don’t doubt the response this time round will be just as phenomenal. If you didn’t manage to get your tickets during the last tour make sure you book now as you don’t want to miss out when Dirty Dancing takes to the Empire stage in April."

Gareth Bailey will star as Johnny Castle, one of the most iconic roles in popular culture. Gareth started his Dirty Dancing journey in the first UK tour where he played Robbie. He then went on to  play Johnny Castle in South Africa as part of the international tour of Dirty Dancing, prior to joining the West End company at the Piccadilly Theatre. Other credits include Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show (UK tour); Starlight Express (Germany); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Theatre Royal Plymouth) and Cinderella (Cliffs Pavilion).

Roseanna Frascona will be carrying the watermelon as idealistic Baby Houseman, who discovers love and life in the summer she will never forget. Roseanna’s credits include At First Sight (UK tour); The Taming of the Shrew (international tour); Murder in the Cathedral (Oxford Playhouse) and Antigone (Southwark Playhouse).

Claire Rogers will play Penny Johnson. Claire’s credits include Dirty Dancing (Piccadilly); Chicago (UK tour); Moulin Rouge (Paris and international tours) and La Varieté (Hackney Empire). Her film and television credits include Nine (The Weinstein Company); Victoria Wood’s Christmas Cracker - The Giddy Kipper and Fashion TV (Sky) and Star Academy for French TV.

The cast also includes James Coombes as Dr. Jake Houseman, Julia J. Nagle as Marjorie Houseman, Jessie-Lou Yates as Lisa Houseman, Colin Charles as Tito Suarez, Alexander Wolfe as Neil Kellerman, Michael Remick as Max Kellerman, Wayne Smith as Billy Kostecki and Mark Faith as Mr Schumacher. Also joining the company are James Bennett, Sarah Cortez, Lizzi Franklin, Francis Haugen, Antony Hewitt, Verity Jones, Lewis Kirk, Robin Lake, Garry Lee, Carly Miles, Carlie Milner, Simone Mistry-Palmer, Marlon Moore, Brandon Lee Sears and Natalie Winsor.

The Dirty Dancing tour launches at the Bristol Hippodrome on March 15 2014, and will then visit Sheffield, Newcastle, Southampton, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Oxford, Eastbourne, Sunderland, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Liverpool.

The first ever UK tour took an unprecedented £42,000,000 at theatres across the country and received standing ovations and 5 star reviews. It also smashed box office records in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dublin, Leeds and Stoke-On-Trent. The production subsequently ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End until February 23 2014, prior to launching a new UK and Ireland tour in March 2014.

Produced by Karl Sydow and Joye Entertainment, in association with Lionsgate and Magic Hour Productions, and written by Eleanor Bergstein, scriptwriter of the phenomenally successful 1987 film, the production features all the much-loved characters and original dialogue from the iconic film with exciting extra scenes added in.

The tantalising dance sequences and brand new choreography come alive on stage, set to all the hits from the unforgettable soundtrack, including ‘Do You Love Me?, ‘Hungry Eyes’ and the Academy Award Winning ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life’, plus many additional songs, making the show a truly extraordinary live experience.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage 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 – The Classic Story On Stage has opened in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and South Africa, consistently breaking box office records.

Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage runs in the Liverpool Empire Theatre from Monday April 7-Friday April 25. For ticket information, click here.

You can learn more about Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage by clicking here.

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