Review: “Dirty Dancing” doesn’t find its rhythm
National tour performing at Shubert Theatre in Boston through June 17
Aaron Patrick Craven (left) and Kaleigh Courts star in the national touring production of “Dirty Dancing”.
June 14, 2018
On Wednesday, June 13, 2018, we saw “Dirty Dancing” at the Shubert Theatre in Boston. The national tour production will be in Boston through Sunday, June 17, before moving to Portland, Maine.
We were very impressed with the ages of some of the cast members; many of them were fresh out of college and just making their theatre debuts. Kaleigh Courts, who plays Baby, is a great dancer and fits the part very well. However, her overarticulation and lack of emotion made it difficult for the audience to believe her character and understand how she felt throughout the show.
Aaron Patrick Craven who played Johnny Castle, was also a strong dancer, but he played the same angry emotion throughout the show. Sadly, this made his character very flat.
Erica Philpot (Elizabeth), and Nickolaus Colon (Billy Kosteki) were amazing! Their singing was breathtaking — especially in “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” and “In the Still of the Night.” We wish that they were featured more throughout the show because, in our opinions, they were the highlight of the performance.
The set, designed by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams was simple and effective; the transitions from scene to scene were smooth. We particularly enjoyed the outdoor scenes — dancing at the gazebo, and lifts in the lake.
Choreographers Kate Champion and Michele Lynch did a great job. We wish that Baby and Johnny had more featured dancing moments — Kaleigh Courts got to shine at the very end of the show. We wanted “Dirty Dancing” to get us up and dancing, but unfortunately, it did not.
(For more information about the national tour of “Dirty Dancing” or to buy tickets, go http://us.dirtydancingontour.com/.)
–June 14, 2018–
