Casting announced for new Dirty Dancing tour

Casting has been announced for the new UK tour of Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage, with Gareth Bailey, Roseanna Frascona and Claire Rogers set to play the leads.

Bailey played the role of Robbie in the show’s first tour of the UK. He later went on to perform as Johnny Castle in South Africa during an international tour and will once again play the role during the 2014-2015 tour.

'Baby' Houseman will be performed by Frascona, whose previous stage credits include At First Sight (UK tour); The Taming of the Shrew (international tour); Murder in the Cathedral (Oxford Playhouse) and Antigone (Southwark Playhouse).

Claire Rogers started her Dirty Dancing career at the Piccadilly Theatre and will play Penny Johnson in the upcoming tour. Her other stage appearances include Chicago (UK tour); Moulin Rouge (Paris and international tours) and La Varieté.

The production will take-off at the Bristol Hippodrome next month, before visiting Sheffield, Newcastle, Southampton, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Oxford, Eastbourne, Sunderland, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Liverpool.

The cast also includes James Coombes as Dr Jake Houseman, Julia J Nagle as Marjorie Houseman, Jessie-Lou Yates as Lisa Houseman, Colin Charles as Tito Suarez, Alexander Wolfe as Neil Kellerman, Michael Remick as Max Kellerman, Wayne Smith as Billy Kostecki and Mark Faith as Mr Schumacher.

Also joining the company are James Bennett, Sarah Cortez, Lizzi Franklin, Francis Haugen, Antony Hewitt, Verity Jones, Lewis Kirk, Robin Lake, Garry Lee, Carly Miles, Carlie Milner, Simone Mistry-Palmer, Marlon Moore, Brandon Lee Sears and Natalie Winsor.