Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/898180
NOVEMBER 8 - 14, 2017 UCW 25 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MUSIC THE CROWN COMPLEX 1960 Coliseum Dr. (910) 438-4100 www.crowncomplexnc.com Nov. 9 Momma's Boy Nov. 13 WKML presents Stars & Guitars Nov. 25-26 The Heart of Christmas Show Dec. 2 Keith Sweat, Dru Hill and Doug-E-Fresh FAYETTEVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 308 Green St. (910) 433-4690 www.fayettevillesymphony.org/ Dec. 2 A Carolina Holiday Jan. 11 The French Connection Jan. 25 Music of the New World THE TAPHOUSE AT HUSKE 411 Hay St. • (910) 426-5650 Nov. 17 Rhonda & Maliheh Nov. 24 Michael Dermott PADDY'S IRISH PUB 2606 Raeford Rd (910) 568-5654 www.paddysirishpub.com Nov. 9 Lovebutter Nov. 10 The Guy Unger Band Nov. 11 Emily Mussolino Nov. 16 Lovebutter Nov. 17 Lotus Sun Nov. 18 Two Bald Guys: Dueling Pianos 'Dirty Dancing' at the Crown by LAUREN VANDERVEEN It's hard to earn the title of "classic," and even more so to be labelled a cult classic. Can a story and its characters withstand the test of time? Find out on Nov. 11 at the Crown. "Dirty Dancing" is one of a very few stories that can and has. is year marks the 30th anniversary of the original film's premiere. It was a commercial success and a pop culture phenomenon that managed to rein- vent itself onstage decades later. "Dirty Dancing: e Classic Story on Stage" will have an exclusive one-night show at the Crown eatre Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. According to Broadway World, what began in 2001 as an eight-week staged workshop in Manhattan was parlayed into a sensation in its own right. e official stage premiere at the eatre Royal in Australia in 2004 sold more than 200,000 tickets in a six-month run. Its five-year run at London's West End is the longest-running produc- tion in the theater's history. e high- est advance sales in European history occurred when "Dirty Dancing" premiered in Germany in 2006. But what's even more special for Fayetteville is that one of its own has been cast in the North American tour. Nickolaus Colõn, born and raised in Fayetteville, plays Billy Kosteki (Johnny's cousin). Colõn started taking acting classes at the age of 7 at the Cape Fear Regional eatre, where he would continue to perform for 10 years. He went on to graduate from the renowned University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a degree in drama in 2015. When asked what it was like return- ing to his old stomping grounds with a huge company at his back, Colõn said, "I almost cried when I saw the touring sheet. You can't ask for something more than that. It's not about fame. It's not about fortune. It's just about this. I get to come back and make a career out of performing these amazing sto- ries, especially for my hometown." is being the fourth year of the North American tour, there's both old and new blood in the production. Sarna Lapine, fresh off of directing Jake Gyllenhaal in "Sunday in the Park with George," is its new director. She is joined by the show's original music supervisor, Conrad Helfrich, and choreographer Michele Lynch. Along with the clas- sic songs from the film, several more pieces have been added to the set list. Eleanor Bergstein, who wrote the screenplay for the film, has also been at the helm of the stage adaptation since the start. In an article for Cleveland's e Plain Dealer, Bergstein said, "is is the summer that Martin Luther King made his 'I Have a Dream' speech, and that was very important to me, because three months later, (Rob- ert) Kennedy is assassi- nated. is is the last summer that you believed you could reach out your hand and change the world." Bergstein had also described her desire to not disappoint fans of the movie with a subpar stage adaptation. Colõn insists audiences are in for something different. His character Billy, for example, is best known in the film as the guy carrying watermel- ons with Baby as she sees real dirty dancing for the first time. But in the play, Billy actually has his own love interest with another counselor, Eliza- beth, on the grounds. Billy is white, Elizabeth is black, and it's 1963. "at was a pretty big deal for a young white guy to be falling in love with a black girl," said Colõn. "So Eleanor has added this whole other subplot and so much more. People will always love the movie, but they're going to love the show even more because they're going to get so much more out of it." is incredible persistence to really portray the cultural and social moment of the 1960s has been echoed by many outlets that have seen the musical. Crit- ics have also raved that "Dirty Dancing" is nostalgic fun with electric dance numbers to rival the original film. Colõn said, "It's one of those things where the movie has such a specific, fond memory in basically everyone's heart in America. It's either a first kiss or a first date. It's (someone saying)oh, I learned how to dance because of this … e first night, we finally had our first crowd and they were lively and fun. en Johnny comes up and he's like 'Nobody puts Baby in the corner,' and the whole crowd goes wild, and every night that's the one thing that you can guarantee will happen." Get tickets while they last at www.crowncomplexnc.com. EVENTS LAUREN VANDERVEEN, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. (910) 484-6200. Josef Brown and Nadia Coote in the North American tour of "Dirty Dancing: e Classic Story on Stage."