Dirty Dancing
The Alhambra, Bradford

"NOBODY leaves Baby in the corner". If those words mean anything to you, chances are you'll be at Bradford's Alhambra theatre sometime over the next three weeks.

Pop musical Dirty Dancing is heating up the city this summer, on a UK tour following its hit West End run.

Based on the much-loved 1987 teen movie, starring Patrick Swayze as a charismatic dancer and Jennifer Grey as the girl he falls for, the show is a faithful adaptation delivering all the memorable moments fans would expect, from the lines they could quote in their sleep to "that lift".

The merchandise stall, selling everything from "Baby" necklaces to "I carried a water melon" T-shirts, was buzzing as devotees packed into the foyer.

And throughout the show they whooped and cheered as the movie they fell in love with more years ago than they care to remember was brought to life on stage.

The year is 1963 and Frances "Baby" Houseman is spending the summer at a country resort with her family. Feisty and independent, she's a young woman from a charmed middle-class upbringing whose liberal parents have instilled in her a social conscience. As far as they're concerned her future is mapped out - economics at college, a stint in the Peace Corps, then marriage to a doctor, like her beloved daddy.

But when she meets charismatic dancer Johnny Castle, who runs the entertainment troupe at Kellerman's holiday camp, she's drawn into his world of wild abandon and freedom of expression - through the medium we have come to know as "dirty dancing".

Dirty Dancing is essentially a schmaltzy coming-of-age story, but it has a good heart. Like many women of my age, and younger, I have a soft spot for the film, mainly because of its soundtrack - and this show, which blends music from a live band on stage with recorded tracks from the movie, doesn't disappoint.

It's a slick, well-paced production with impressive choreography to numbers such as Hungry Eyes, Love is Strange, She’s Like the Wind and the feelgood finale, (I’ve Had) the Time of My Life.

With clever use of video footage, it was almost like watching it on a big screen all over again. The social comment doesn't always sit well, but at least Baby's principles set her apart from yet another sickly sweet musical theatre heroine.

By the time Johnny lifted Baby high into the air, the delighted audience was springing to its feet. A terrific cast was led by Jessie Hart, who got it just right as Baby, morphing from a geeky, awkward college girl to an assured young woman. Lewis Kirk got pulses racing as Johnny, setting fire to the stage with sexy moves and smouldering passion, and Claire Rogers gave a touching performance as Penny, and wowed us with her fabulous dance skills.

As the music faded and the audience stepped into the night, many in pink T-shirts, one thing was clear. They'd had the time of their lives!

Dirty Dancing runs until July 25