Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage will launch a multi-city North American tour at The National Theatre in Washington D.C., August 26 – September 14. The staged musical of this worldwide smash-hit film will go on to play over 30 markets in North America including Minneapolis, Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans, Seattle, Costa Mesa and more. Additional cities will be announced in the coming months.

“It’s long been a dream of mine to mount a North American tour of Dirty Dancing,” says Ken Gentry, CEO of NETworks Presentations LLC. “The proven global appeal for this story is undeniable and I know audiences, both fans of theatre and fans of the film, will be captivated with the way this production re-imagines the movie through an incredible fusion of storytelling, classic songs and electrifying choreography.”

The production’s book is written by Eleanor Bergstein, who penned the screenplay for the iconic film. The North American tour will be directed by James Powell with choreography by Michele Lynch based on the original choreography by Kate Champion.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is an unprecedented live experience, exploding with heart-pounding music, passionate romance and sensational dancing. Seen by millions across the globe, this timeless love story features the hit songs “Hungry Eyes,” “Hey Baby,” “Do You Love Me?” and the heart-stopping “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life.” London’s Sunday Express says “This crowd-pleasing stage adaptation hits the jackpot!”

It’s the summer of 1963, and 17-year-old Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman is on vacation in New York’s Catskill Mountains with her older sister and parents. Mesmerized by the racy dance moves and pounding rhythms she discovers in the resort’s staff quarters, Baby can’t wait to be part of the scene, especially when she catches sight of Johnny Castle, the resort’s sexy dance instructor. Passions ignite and Baby’s life changes forever when she is thrown in to the deep end as Johnny’s leading lady, both on-stage and off.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage was first performed at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia in November 2004 before embarking upon a hugely successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. A new production opened at the Theater Neue Flora in Hamburg, Germany in March 2006 where it broke records for achieving the highest advance in European history.

The production began performances on London’s West End in October 2006 with an £11 million advance and went on to become the longest running show in the history of the Aldwych Theatre. It closed in July 2011 in advance of a two-year UK national tour and then returned to London for a strictly limited season at the Piccadilly Theatre.

The show has gone on to perform across the world in markets as diverse as Utrecht, Holland, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. It is currently represented by a new UK tour, which launched March 2014 in Bristol.

The North American tour of Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is produced by Amber Jacobsen, NETworks Presentations LLC and Grove Entertainment.

Dirty Dancing 2014 – 2015 North American Tour Dates

• Washington, DC 8/25 – 9/14 The National Theatre
• Durham, NC 9/16 – 9/21 Durham Performing Arts Center
• Cincinnati, OH 9/23 – 10/5 Aronoff Center
• Minneapolis, MN 10/7 – 10/19 Orpheum Theatre
• St. Louis, MO 10/21 – 11/2 The Fabulous Fox Theatre
• San Antonio, TX 11/4 – 11/9 Majestic Theatre
• Austin, TX 11/11 – 11/16 Bass Concert Hall
• Houston, TX 11/18 – 11/23 The Hobby Center
• Atlanta, GA 11/25 – 11/30 The Fox Theatre
• Tampa, FL 12/2 – 12/7 Straz Center
• Jacksonville, FL 12/9 – 12/14 Times-Union Center
• New Orleans, LA 12/16 – 12/21 Saenger Theatre
• Sacramento, CA 12/26 – 1/4 Community Center Theater
• San Diego, CA 1/6 – 1/11 San Diego Civic Center
• Portland, OR 1/13 – 1/18 Keller Auditorium
• Seattle, WA 1/20 – 2/1 Paramount Theatre
• Costa Mesa, CA 2/3 – 2/15 Segerstrom Center for the Arts

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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