‘Dirty Dancing’ coming to Adelaide

Leading Australian theatre producer John Frost announced mid-March that his new production of the iconic musical Dirty Dancing will be heading to Adelaide in October for a limited season.

Ten years after its world premiere in Sydney, the worldwide hit show returned to Australia in 2014 with a season at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The show is currently entertaining audiences at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre through this weekend, then its heading to Brisbane’s Lyric Theatre and later Perth’s Crown Theatre. Then the show will arrive at Adelaide’s Festival Theatre from October 2.

With an exciting cast and high-energy performances, this is a “feel good” phenomenon that captures all the amazing moments from the ’87 cult classic movie. Two extraordinary young talents have made the leap from chorus to leading roles as the main iconic characters in Dirty Dancing. The role of charismatic dance teacher Johnny Castle is played by Kurt Phelan while the role of innocent Frances “Baby” Houseman is played by Kirby Burgess. A NIDA graduate, Phelan is an actor, choreographer and writer. His musical theatre credits include Singin’ in the Rain, Saturday Night Fever and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Burgess has been seen on stage in Sweet Charity, Hairspray, High School Musical – Live on Stage and on television in Wonderland.

“I’m thrilled to bring this wonderful new production of Dirty Dancing to Adelaide for the first time ever,” said John Frost. “The stage musical gives audiences the chance to hear the songs from the hit film performed live and to experience the breathtaking dance routines.”

Featuring hit songs including “Hungry Eyes”, “Hey! Baby”, “Do You Love Me?” and the iconic “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life”, Dirty Dancing has become one of the most popular musical productions of all time. For more information, visit dirtydancingaustralia.com. Tickets are now available for Adelaide performances.

Photo (top): Kurt Phelan (Johnny), Kirby Burgess (Baby) and Nadia Coote (Penny) in Dirty Dancing. Photo (left): Burgess and Phelan in iconic scene. Photos by Jeff Busby.