Reader Reviews
Dirty Dancing (Palace Theatre, Manchester)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Fantastic musical, loved every minute of it! I'm a big fan of the film and felt that this was a great representation of it on stage. The scenery was fantastic and added a realism to the show. Baby and Penny were fantastic casting, Jonny was a bit college boy and not quite 'rough' enough, but a great dancer all the same! (no-one's going to match Patrick!) I loved it one of the best I've seen in a while Seats on the stals were great not squished there - Tessa, Bardsey | 09 Jan 12 |
| Show was ok but def nothing amazing as I expected and like everybody said it was. Lacked chemistry and acting did not flow enough for me. Was too rehearsed. Johnny ruined it for me more than anything as he was a skinny geek who couldn't dance. Poor Patrick swayze would not have been happy! He had none of his natural sex appeal or charm. Baby was fab n looked exactly like her as did penny. - thegla | 07 Jan 12 |
| My daughter and I went to see Dirty Dancing 05/01/2012 and both thoroughly enjoyed it, made me want to be young again, and my daughter aged 19 to learn to dance, thought the whole thing worth every penny. Comments made re main leads not singing, in the film they don't either, so didn't even notice / mind. Very talented cast. Well Done. - Julie | 06 Jan 12 |
| Palace Theater, Manchester - 4/1/2012 1) Did someone forget to bring the set from London? There's only so many times you can walk round the same door! 2) Did the cast have their Christmas party the night before and resented that there was a theater full of people there interrupting their hangover? 3) I've heard better american accents on my telephone banking. Extremely disappointed as I had been looking forward to this for months! An absolute disgrace and refunds should, but obviously will not, be offered. Go and see Ghost instead. That was fabulous!!! - Claire G | 06 Jan 12 |
| totally disappointed-leads did not sing,accents awful, major songs barely included, amateur scenery like a school production, leads did not deliver, rushed scenes with big gaps inbetween. Completely made up and irrelevant parts also. Extremely let down! - Maureen | 06 Jan 12 |
| This show was such a disappointment, and not worth the £37.50 I paid for a ticket. The acting was terrible (particularly the cringing attempts at American accents) - it seems that they were cast solely on their dancing rather than acting skills. The lead characters seemed to be concentrating too hard on mimicking Patrick Swayze/Jennifer Grey rather than the delivery of their lines ( = very wooden acting). The scenes did not flow, and in some parts there was far too much going on that you did not know where on the stage to look. In my opinion, too much money was spent on the unnecessary hi-tech set and lighting which could have been put to far better use employing better actors! - Kathryn | 05 Jan 12 |
| The casting of Baby was so disappointing such an annoying voice! Johnny was good as was the fantastic Penny. - Donna | 01 Jan 12 |
| Decent enough show but cant believe that nobody has mentioned how cramped the seats are.My partner and I were sat in the Grand Tier and spent most of the second half in agony with knee pains because of the seat restrictions.Anyone over six feet would have real problems. - David Kozomara | 30 Dec 11 |
| Thought the dancing was good but that unfortunately was all. Seemed to be a random series of short scenes, which suddenly cut-off with no apparent purpose, giving it all a very rushed feel. Quite ham acting and snippets of the music from the film played and again cut-off. I enjoy most musicals but would nit recommend this one which is a shame as I was really looking forward to it. - Jo Marie | 29 Dec 11 |
| Went last night Xmas Eve for our Xmas treat. What a waste of £50.00 per head and there were 8 of us. The show was just awful and disjointed. I would not recommend this to any of my friends not even at £20.00 per ticket. The cast were not good, Johnny and Baby so poor!!!! We saw Ghost and Sister Act and they were brilliant performances. I can't understand why some people thought it was good. To see so many empty seats on xmas eve should have told us how bad it was. - Ann | 25 Dec 11 |
| I think most of these reviews are very harsh. I saw Dirty Dancing in London in 2009 and I have to say that this production is way superior to that. No-one can live up to Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, although I do feel that this particular Johnny lacked a certain charisma and presence but he did try really hard. Be prepared - the audience is very raucous and loud but this didn't detract from my enjoyment. There were a few amusing moments when a couple of audience comments made the characters laugh - given that this was the scene were Johnny and Baby first spend the night together, it did mar the atmosphere a little bit so I think the audience should behave a little better really. Very enjoyable on the whole and I would go and see it again. - NickyL | 19 Dec 11 |
| Was just OK.Very overpriced at £50, theatre was cold, smelly and old. would have been better to rent the film for £2 from blockbuster. Didn't like Baby as they had turned her into a comedy character. BIG RIP OFF - Ursula | 18 Dec 11 |
| the show was fantastic will be taking my grandaughters to see it, its a must see. - lynda mason | 17 Dec 11 |
| Total Waste of Money!!! Ghost fantastic! Mamamia fantastic!! Dirty Dancing Sh.. !! Keep your £50 and spend it on a great meal - Dave | 17 Dec 11 |
| Cheesey acting, needed a big named star. Didn't sing the two main songs on the film - she's like the wind and hungry eyes. Bad water lift scenery - j grey | 10 Dec 11 |
| I bought this for my wife and daughter thinking it would be a great pre-Christmas family show. The story was hard to follow if you haven't seen the film and some of the scenes didn't flow together. It doesn't have to exactly replicate the film and I think some scenes should be re-written or omitted to keep it flowing better for the stage production. What really spoilt it for me was the majority of the audience, which was mainly made up from tipsy 40 something women reliving being a teenager in 1987 as they whooped and heckled and laughed and talked to each other throughout. I rarely come away from the theatre disappointed but I did last night. The cast were great and I felt a bit sorry for them as unusually the audience spoilt the show! - stuart | 10 Dec 11 |
| I agree very poor indeed so disappointed the only people who seem to enjoy it in the audience were people who had a good Christmas drink before they went to watch.Most of the audience laughed all the way through which we did but it's not a comedy although there are real comedy bits in it We enjoyed it only because we laughed all the way through. Thought i was at an amateur dramatics show it was that poor apart from the special effects but even they were a little dodgy in parts & comical especially the water scene ... hilarious !! Jonny really needs to go to the gym & beef up for this part he is not a Patrick Swayze in a million years.Went to watch on 9th dec 2011 - Bev | 10 Dec 11 |
| Brilliant! Saw the Saturday matinee! I'd go as far to say better than the original film. - Bethany | 27 Nov 11 |
| I cannot disagree more with the above comments. I thought it was absolutely captivating - would happily sit through it again. Well done to all involved. - Judith | 27 Nov 11 |
| What a waste of £50 I really feel for the lead dancers/actors because they were reasonably good and after this disaster of a show I can't see their cvs jumping to the top of any lists. As said above totally unoriginal and pointless watch the film or go and see a panto...it's be more impressive without a doubt. - Josephine Bloggs | 27 Nov 11 |
| That's about 3 stars more than I would give it. It's just the movie on stage with most songs performed by background singers. It's lazy and unoriginal, worst of all its pointless, wanna see Dirty Dancing then just watch the film. This show is not dedigned for a theatre audience but rather the hen night crowd. Such a shame because a good musical could have come from Dirty Dancing. - me | 25 Nov 11 |
