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Katie and Karl are having the time of their lives in Killarney
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AN UPLIFTING experience both for its stars and its audiences, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage opened to a rapturous reception in the INEC, Killarney, on Tuesday.
Set in 1963, Dirty Dancing was based on the real-life establishment called Grossinger’s Hotel in the Catskill Mountains of New York The classic story comes to the stage complete with those hit songs that formed a soundtrack to many teenage years, including Hungry Eyes, Hey! Baby, Do You Love Me? and of course (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life.
The West End production, which runs in the INEC until Saturday, March 4, was greeted by standing ovations all round in recent days. And the excitement from its super-talented stars was palpable when I met them prior to curtain up.
Portraying Johnny Castle, the role made famous on the silver screen by Patrick Swayze, is a dream come true for Karl James Wilson. “When I was a kid, I was a massive fan of Patrick Swayze,” he said. “He has been a major influence on me, he was just so cool.”
And in between dazzling audiences in the INEC, Killarney, he and Katie Hartland, who plays Frances “Baby” Houseman, have been enjoying a close-up view of the world-renowned Kerry scenery, including at a lakeside photo-shoot in Killarney with award-winning photographer Valerie O’Sullivan on Tuesday.
Karl, who prior to his arrival in Kerry this week had visited the Glenbeigh area with his partner, is also looking forward to showing Katie the Ring of Kerry.
The UK tour has taken over £10 million pounds since it hit the road last August and, judging by the standing ovations in the INEC this week, it’s not hard to see why. Katie noted that the training for the show, produced by Karl Sydow and Paul Elliott, was intense from the start. “The first three or four days were non-stop, hard-core, we were dancing all day,” she said.
Tickets are available from the INEC Box Office, 064-6671555, www.inec.ie or from Ticketmaster.
See a video of the show at https://youtu.be/cpb9Y4muCvQ
Above: Leads Frances 'Baby' Houseman played by Katie Hartland and Johnny Castle played by Karl James Wilson took time out in Killarney to perform their iconic dance moves. PICTURES: VALERIE O'SULLIVAN