Nobody puts Baby in a corner! And nobody better miss
Dirty Dancing! In 1987, the film world became a bit dirtier. The romance film Dirty Dancing shimmied and danced its way into the hearts and feet of filmgoers. With a low budget and unknown stars at the time,
Dirty Dancing went on to earn a stunning $300 million worldwide. Further,
Dirty Dancing was the first movie to sell more than one million copies on home video. The
Dirty Dancing soundtrack even generated two multi-platinum albums and a host of number of singles.
The Dancing Begins
The 1987 movie starred Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach.
Dirty Dancing tells the story of Frances 'Baby' Houseman. She's a 17-year-old New Yorker who is vacationing with her wealthy Jewish family at a Jewish resort in the Catskill Mountains in the summer of 1963. Her physician father is the personal doctor to the resort's owner. Baby soon develops a crush on the resort's dance teacher Johnny Castle, and he invites her to a party hosted by the resort's entertainment staff. Baby's first taste of this 'dirty dancing' is revealed at that time.
After Johnny's dance partner, Penny, becomes pregnant by Baby's sister's boyfriend, Robbie, she decides to abort the baby. In the meantime, Baby fills-in for her, all the while getting closer to him. During their first dance performance, Johnny attempts to break Baby out of her shell and tries to lift her high in the air. Of course, Baby is scared of trusting Johnny and nervous. Regardless of the missed lift, the performance goes remarkably well. They soon find out that Penny's abortion was botched, and she is now in excruciating pain. Baby's father examines her and assumes that the baby is Johnny's, and therefore, he forbids his daughter to see him any longer.
The Drama Ensues
Eventually, the resort management finds out about the affair Johnny is having with Baby, a guest. He's framed for being a thief, but Baby comes to his rescue and confesses that in the night in question, they were together in his cabin. Johnny is cleared from the allegation, but fired from the resort.
The climactic scene comes when Johnny returns to the resort for his final dance performance of the season. He pulls Baby from her parent's table and utters
Dirty Dancing's most famous line – "nobody puts Baby in a corner.' Then the most monumental dance scene in
Dirty Dancing happens when Johnny lifts Baby in the air and everyone cheers and dances together.
More than Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is more than just a physical dance performance. The 'dirty dancing' is illustrated in the affair between Johnny and Baby, Johnny and Penny, and Penny and Robbie, the man who impregnated her. The dance scenes of
Dirty Dancing were choreographed by now the now famous Kenny Ortega (
High School Musical). The movie is easy to follow and details Baby's evolvement from teenager to woman during her family summer vacation.
The lift in the finale scene of
Dirty Dancing symbolized Baby's physical and emotional lift, as well as her journey to a new place. In the entire movie, Baby was subjected to unfamiliar tests like the dirty dancing party, the crush with Johnny, defying her dad, and dancing in front of her parents. Overall,
Dirty Dancing is a relatable coming-of-age movie that translates well into a stage performance.
Baby on Broadway
After the success of
Dirty Dancing on film,
Dirty Dancing is now on Broadway. It even spawned a 2004 prequel called
Dirty Dancing, Havana Nights. Also in 2004, a musical began showing in Australia to mixed reviews, but over 200,000 tickets were sold.
Dirty Dancing continued to thrill audiences in Germany and London in 2006. The London production will run through April 2009.
Dirty Dancing also broke box office records in Toronto, Canada for its debut in May 2007.
The Windy City has also gotten the 'dirty' treatment.
Dirty Dancing began production in Chicago October 19, 2008 and will run through January 17, 2009. Boston follows Chicago with tour dates set for February 7 through March 15, 2009.
Dirty Dancing is an exciting, captivating musical production not too far removed from the film's success and delivery. Don't miss out on this 'dirty' experience!