Dirty Dancing tour cast announced
© Alastair Muir
Full casting has been revealed for Dirty Dancing, with the hit show opening on a new tour later this summer.
Michael O'Reilly will star as Johnny Castle with Kira Malou as Frances "Baby" Houseman and Carlie Milner as Penny Johnson. They are joined by: Lynden Edwards as Dr Jake Housman, Jackie Morrison as Marjorie Houseman, Lizzie Ottley as Lisa Houseman, Samuel Bailey as Billy Kostecki, Michael Remick as Max Kellerman, Thomas Sutcliffe as Neil Kellerman, Colin Charles as Tito Suarez, Mark Faith as Mr Schumacher, Amber Sylvia Edwards as Elizabeth and Austin Wilks as swing and resident choreographer.
The ensemble will be composed of Danielle Cato, Danielle Lockwood, Marie Finlayson, James McHugh, Benjamin Harrold, Rishard-Kyro Nelson, Patricia Wilkins, Charlotte Olliffe, and Lee Nicholson alongside actor musicians Miles Russell, Ben Mabberley and Tom Mussell.
The musical is based on the classic 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey and features hit songs such as "Hungry Eyes", "Hey! Baby", "Do You Love Me?" and "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life". A sequel of some form is said to be in the works.
Dirty Dancing received its West End premiere at the Aldwych Theatre in 2006, where it ran for five years. It has since gone on to tour the world and returned to the West End in 2013, playing at the Piccadilly Theatre. It then returned again to the Phoenix Theatre in 2016.
The show is directed by Federico Bellone, with lighting by Valerio Tiberi, sound by Armando Vertullo and supervising musical direction by Richard John.
The tour is set to open on 29 July in Shrewsbury, with dates through to November.
