Nobody puts Baby in a corner -- but Lionsgate is putting Baby on Broadway!
The studio, under its stage arm Showpath, announced on Thursday, Oct. 17 that they were in development on a new stage musical adaptation of Dirty Dancing, with plans to bring the story to the Great White Way for the very-first time.
Dirty Dancing: The Musical, as its being called, will make its debut in late 2025. After its North America debut, the company has plans to expand the run to theatre markets in Asia, Australia, Latin America and beyond.
Like the beloved 1987 movie, the musical will follow the journey of Frances "Baby" Houseman (played by Jennifer Grey on screen) and dance instructor Johnny Castle (immortalized by the late Patrick Swayze), as they "navigate love, passion, and personal growth" amid the summer of 1963.
No casting nor any other members of the creative team have been named, but Lionsgate promises "iconic moments, unforgettable songs and electrifying dance sequences" from the film will be included while key elements of the story will be reimagined to resonate with today's theatregoers.
"Expect new choreography and staging concepts, and perhaps even some new songs," they say.
Dirty Dancing is one of Lionsgate's most enduring hits, grossing over $200 million worldwide since it was released. Its soundtrack launched multiple No. 1 singles including "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, which won the movie an Oscar for Best Original Song.
Over the years, the title has spawned everything from a prequel film, a television series, a made-for-television musical and multiple reality competition series. There's also an upcoming untitled Lionsgate sequel film in the works.
Theater fans may remember, Dirty Dancing has gotten the stage musical treatment before too, with original screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein penning the book.
That musical debuted in Australia in 2004 to audience acclaim. Future runs came in Germany and in London's West End, where Dirty Dancing has been revived multiple times. A 2007 North American tour and a 2014 American tour were also staged, but the show never made its way to Broadway.
For the new adaptation, Bergstein is "closely involved" in the creative process, Lionsgate said in a release. She's be reuniting with Emmy winner and Broadway vet Lonny Price, who played Neil Kellerman in the movie and will now direct the re-envisioned production.
"In the years after I wrote and co-produced the original film Dirty Dancing, I was grateful and astonished by the generations of audiences who responded with open hearts to the themes of honor and courage beneath the surface," Bergstein, 86, said in a statement. "Years later, sensing our audiences wanted to 'be there' while the story was happening, I wrote and co-produced a stage show. Its reception all over the world exceeded my sweetest dreams. Now we've come full circle, and with my old friend Lonny Price by my side, I'm returning to the stage with a reimagined version."
"Its hope is to be equal to the new world swirling around us while revisiting more fully and precisely the story I'd wanted to tell when I wrote my first lines," Bergstein's statement continued. "It's my way of saying thank you to you all."
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Price, 65, shared equal excitement about collaborating again with Bergstein. "I am beyond excited be reunited with Eleanor and to join her in bringing this expanded Dirty Dancing to the stage," he said in his own statement. "For the people who already love the movie, they will get a deeper, more nuanced version of the characters they fell in love with."
"Having played Neil in the movie, I know full well the scores of people who have been touched by this story, and for me to return to Kellerman's and direct this new musical iteration truly is a thrill," he added.
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