Two prolonged standing ovations captured the mood of a full house at Eden Court after a fantastic performance of Dirty Dancing reached its all-singing, all-dancing feel-good finale.
Looking around, it would be fair to say that just about everyone who had turned out at the Inverness theatre for the touring version of the west end smash hit musical had just had “the time of their lives”.
To give it its full title, Dirty Dancing – the Classic Story on Stage features the much-loved characters and original dialogue from the iconic 1987 movie, as well as a number of extra scenes added in by writer Eleanor Bergstein.
The story is set in the summer of 1963, during a period of huge social change in America. It is the time of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, President Kennedy’s Civil Rights Bill and changing relationships between generations and sectors of society.
On a very traditional middle class summer holiday in New York’s Catskill Mountains with her parents and older sister, Frances “Baby” Houseman shows little interest in the resort activities and instead discovers her own entertainment when she stumbles across an all-night dance party at the staff quarters.
Mesmerised by the raunchy dance moves and the pounding mambo rhythms, Baby can’t wait to be part of the scene, especially when she catches sight of Johnny Castle, in-house dance instructor at the Kellerman’s Hotel.
As the story of two fiercely independent young people from different worlds coming together unfolds, her life changes forever when she is thrown in at the deep end as Johnny’s leading lady on-stage and off.
A smart, fast-moving and colourful production barely pauses for breath as its highly talented cast accompanies Baby and Johnny on their emotional journey. The dancing and singing are, of course, the heart and soul of the show, but clever rotating scenery, lighting and effects add to the spectacle and storytelling.
The effects are put to particularly good use during intense moments in the development of Johnny and Baby’s intertwined dancing and personal relationships, balancing on a log in a forest and perfecting their lift in a lake.
Powerful, handsome and cool, Lewis Griffiths is superb as Johnny, as is Katie Harland in the role of Baby. The dancing of Johnny’s partner Penny Johnson, played by Carlie Milner, is also just wonderful to watch.
As well as intensity and sensuality, the show is sprinkled with humour throughout, with older members of the cast providing some of its funniest moments. But the biggest laughs are provided by the toe-curling clumpy dancing and out of key singing of Baby’s naive big sister Lisa Houseman, brought cringingly well to life by Lizzie Ottley.
Featuring the hit songs Hungry Eyes, Hey! Baby, Do You Love Me? and its enduring anthem (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, the live music is delivered expertly by the three-piece Kellerman’s Band.
After a rapturous farewell to the stars and cast, the skilled trio serenaded a very satisfied Inverness audience as it filed out of the theatre.
Dirty Dancing is at Eden Court until Saturday.