It’s easy to forget that when schmaltz fest Dirty Dancing was released it was controversial with its back street abortion subplot and the sexual awakening of a middle class young woman at the hands of a blue collar dancer.
It was also a B-movie so awful that one producer suggested they ’burn the negatives and claim the insurance’, but due to incredible chemistry of unknowns Jennifer Grey as Baby and Patrick Swayze as Johnny it somehow found an audience grossing over $214 million worldwide.
Now the stage version of class conflict in post Eisenhower Middle America, all set to an incredible soundtrack, is packing them in at Leeds Grand Theatre.
“I’ve never been in a show with such a crazy audience and they go wild for it because so many people love the film, and to be able to see it live in front of them they just go mad,” says Paul-Michael Jones who plays Johnny.
“It’s pretty much the film on stage so all the major scenes like Baby carrying the watermelon, and the famous (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life dance finale are there, so all the best moments are in it.”
A survey for Sky Movies found Dirty Dancing was women’s most watched movie, and the stage show has been a huge West End hit, so how did Paul-Michael feel stepping into the gigantic shoes of trained dancer Swayze?
“I think there’s lot more pressure because people come with an expectation of what the role is going to be, unlike the more traditional musical or a show not based on a film where they don’t what the character is like. They don’t have that preconceived idea of what the character is like, so I honestly think people what to see the film and the character from the film on stage.
“I think what people loved about Johnny was that he was quite a tough guy and cool, but he had a soft side because of the way he cares for Penny and Baby. So it was scary, very scary, doing Johnny but the audiences seem to like it, so I must be doing something right.”
Paul-Michael learnt his trade as a latin dancer before going to theatre school, so he used all his experience trying to shake off the ghost of Swayze’s snake hips and rough charm.
“During the audition process I did watch the film again, and once I started rehearsing it seems to be non stop on the telly again, but I didn’t want my Johnny to be an exact copy.
“So you just go through all the scenes with the director, and with Emily Holt who is playing Baby, and just find the way you walk and speak for yourself. I had a dialect coach so I don’t speak exactly the same as Patrick, but there are elements of him because I’ve seen the film so many times and it sort of engrained in you. I hope there’s bit of my character in there too.”
But this is not a one man show as it needs a Baby who can capture a confident young woman who gets her beau into bed, and a team of top notch dancers hoofing to sixties classics from The Shirelles, The Ronettes, Frankie Valli and Otis Redding.
“The chemistry is great with Emily who is a brilliant actress. We didn’t know each other before we started doing the show which was really interesting because of the love scenes we have to do.
“The ensemble dancers are out of this world, and they are throwing the girls all over the shop and over their heads night after night It’s amazing to look at every couple on stage because there is something to watch all the time, and it’s never the same.”
In modern romantic film history there are two truly iconic endings. One is Richard Gere walking into a factory in full Navy dress uniform to sweep Debra Winger off her feet.
The other is Johnny strutting into the holiday camp ballroom to make his peace with Baby, spotting her sat in a crap place at the dinner table and uttering the immortal line: ‘nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
This is a precursor to an all time classic dance routine set to the Oscar winning song ‘(I’ve Had) the Time Of My Life’, sung by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.
“Every single night no matter what mood you are in during the day or how tired you are it is the best bit of the show. I come through the audience and surprise Baby as Johnny does in the film, and then we do the iconic lift that everyone remembers so well.”
• Dirty Dancing runs at Leeds Grand Theatre until Saturday 23 June.
• Box Office: 0844 848 2701, book Online: www.leedsgrandtheatre.com.