“Dirty Dancing” – A little dusty and tired

A tired and a little worse for wear stage production of ”Dirty Dancing” limped into the Golden Gate Theatre – any resemblance to the 1987 box office hit movie with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray is purely, as they say coincidental.
The story of the dancers and the show business side of the Catskills in 1963 by Elenore Bergstein has not transported well to the stage in her theatre book. There are 25 songs in the first act and 18 in the second with the award winning “(If I Had) The Time Of My Life” closing the show and seemed the only number that stood out in the stage play from the movie.
This show has been touring internationally since 2004. It never made it to Broadway and was last seen here in 2008. Some of the cast are about the same since it began and they are not to blame for the staccato scenes and lack of chemistry that was so prevalent in the movie. The cast is better than the material it has been given to work with.
I suggest you check the library for a  copy of the movie – it’s worth seeing – and if they don’t have it I am sure Hulu or Netflex has it on their list.
‘Dirty Dancing’
Where: Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor Street- St., San Francisco 
Through: March 20
Time:  2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Tickets: $45-$212
Details: 800/746-1799 or visit wwwshnsf.com