A Tribute to Dirty Dancing

A Tribute to Dirty Dancing
Director / Choreograper Nick Winston
Musical Director Julian Reeve

Reviewed: Geoff Ambler: Kenwood, Hampstead, 22nd July 2006

Also at Marble Hill, Twickenham on the 19th August
Tickets 0870 890 0146 or 0870 333 6206

Music that already knows its way to your soul

Some films appear in a blaze of hype and disappear onto the 3 for £10 shelf at HMV faster than you can say Mission Impossible:3. A rare few movies define an era and remain ageless for generations to come, picking up new adherents from each new generation. Dirty Dancing was one of the latter and the music from it retains the ability to excite youthful passions and inspire the listener to just feel pretty darn good about life and maybe, after a glass of wine, dance like no one is watching.

Applying this evocative mix of tunes to “A Tribute To” show, along with some seriously talented West Enders, was the inspiration of a genius and the result, from the exciting Director/Choreographer Nick Winston, made a stormy, sultry Saturday night in Hampstead, a night to remember for a long, long time.

Laura Michelle Kelly opens the show and performs flawlessly, passionately and with boundless energy. Mark O'Malley applies his own brand of cool brilliance and he and Laura are more than capably supported by a lively, lithe ensemble. Every number effervesces and the entire show sparkles from the energy of Yes, to the last playing of The Time of My Life. Encores are demanded by the audience again and again and again and eventually the performers escape and the fireworks are set off. Even their bangs, colourful flashes and explosions do little to diminish the memory of what we have just seen. The audience is buzzing long after the last bang. They are still eager to dance and it continues on the buses and trains on the way home. No, really!

It’s a show with music that already knows its way to your soul, with creatively inspired, funny, sexy choreography and a really great group of performers, it’s about as exciting and energetic as life gets. You can live it, on the 19th August at Marble Hill, Twickenham. Take a picnic, take wine, pack your dancing shoes and remember, no one is watching you dance, so enjoy it.

Laura Michelle Kelly
Mark O'Malley
Lauren Cattell
Debbie Chapman
Suzy Bastone
Juliet Gough
Claire Cassidy
Tarah McDonald
Oliver Tydman
Kevin Doody
Richard Reynard
Tim Newman

2006-07-31 15:52:16