Impressive dancing, vocalists help liven somewhat flat 'Dirty Dancing'

If ever a show was conceived with an audience in mind, “Dirty Dancing — The Classic Story on Stage” is it.

The play-with-music (to call this a musical is a misnomer), is very nearly a scene-for-scene, word-for-word, song-for-song re-creation of the hit 1987 indie film starring Patrick Swayze as a charismatic bad boy who falls in love with Jennifer Grey's quintessential good girl during the summer of 1963.

Set to an early 1960s pop soundtrack and featuring sexy, hip-swiveling choreography, the film — a coming-of-age love story underscored by a restless sexual energy — has legions of fans, many of whom attended Wednesday's opening of the Chicago leg of the national tour. That was evident by the approving roars that greeted the opening number showing silhouetted dancers performing to “This Magic Moment,” and the finale, which featured the lovers dancing to the Oscar-winning “(I've Had) The Time of My Life.”

The theatrical equivalent of a popcorn movie, “Dirty Dancing — The Classic Story on Stage” — adapted (with some additions) by original screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein and directed by James Powell — is a pleasantly innocuous piece of theater. It is not, however, a first-tier musical. Nor is it a second-tier musical. The songs don't advance the plot, nor do they reveal anything about these two-dimensional characters, most of whom don't sing anyway.

Soloists handle the vocals. And this production has an impressive pair in Jennlee Shallow and Doug Carpenter, whose terrific singing nearly stopped the show.

That's saying something, considering “Dirty Dancing” is basically a dance show. Choreographed by Michele Lynch (with original choreography by Kate Champion), the dances are impressively performed by an exuberant young cast that includes Christopher Tierney, formerly of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Jenny Winton, a five-year member of the Joffrey Ballet.

Tierney plays Johnny Castle, a handsome young man from the wrong side of the tracks who works as a dance instructor at a Catskill Mountains resort where brainy, socially conscious, Baby (the appealing Gillian Abbott) is vacationing with her physician father Jake (Mark Elliot Wilson), mother Margorie (Margot White) and fashion-conscious sister Lisa, amusingly played by Alex Scolari, whose delicious inept hula dance earns the production's biggest laughs.

The affable Billy (Carpenter) introduces Baby to the resorts employees — working-class young men and women who grind away their frustrations at after-hours dance parties presided over by Johnny and his longtime friend and dance partner Penny (the leggy Winton).

When Penny learns she's pregnant by Ivy League louse Robbie (Scott McCreary), Baby takes her place as Johnny's partner. During their rehearsals for a dance showcase, romance develops between the bad boy and the good girl, upsetting the delicate balance between the haves and have-nots.

Speaking of which, the attempt to inject a social conscience into what is essentially fluff feels misguided. A failed attempt at gravitas, the references to class conflict, the civil rights movement and growing tension in Vietnam feel contrived. The sentiment rings hollow.

But that's not this production's only problem. Stronger acting is required. Too many performances are one-note.

Jennifer Irwin's full-skirted, patterned sundresses and sleek jewel-toned sheaths are stylish, but the set — which relies heavily on projections that on several occasions provide some unintentionally laughable visuals — fails to impress. It looks flat and feels a little cheap.

“Dirty Dancing's” loyal fans deserve better.

“Dirty Dancing — The Classic Story on Stage”

★ ★

<b>Location:</b> Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or <a href="http://broadwayinchicago.com">broadwayinchicago.com</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday through Aug. 30. No 7:30 p.m. performance Aug. 30.

<b>Running time:</b> About 2 hours, 15 minutes with intermission

<b>Tickets:</b> $15-$82

<b>Parking:</b> Area garages

<b>Rating:</b> For high school students and older