In addition to the
previously announced Georgina Rich and Josef Brown, who will play Frances “Baby” Houseman and her love interest Johnny Castle in the new stage version of
Dirty Dancing, full casting has now been announced. Other principal roles will be taken by David Rintoul as Baby’s father Dr Jake Houseman, Issy van Randwyck as her mother Marjorie, Isabella Calthorpe as Baby’s sister Lisa and Nadia Coote as Penny.
David Rintoul
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RADA-trained Rintoul is a long-established screen and stage actor who has worked extensively with Joint Stock Theatre Company on original productions of plays by David Hare, Caryl Churchill and others, as well as with the National Theatre (where his appearances include roles in productions of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
The Rivals and an adaptation of Marcel Proust’s
A Remembrance of Things Past), RSC (playing Prince Hal in
Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, the title role in
Edward III, as well as
The American Pilot and
Breakfast with Mugabe that were both seen as part of the RSC’s New Writing season at Soho), Shakespeare’s Globe, Royal Court and Lyric Hammersmith. His West End credits include appearing in the long run of Peter Hall’s production of Oscar Wilde’s
An Ideal Husband.
Van Randwyck, formerly a singer with the Fascinating Aida cabaret troupe (from 1994 to 1999) is married to director Edward Hall, for whom she had a featured role in his production of Once in a Lifetime at the National last year. She has also appeared as Petra in the National Theatre’s 1995 production of A Little Night Music, as well as the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park productions of Kiss Me, Kate (as Bianca/Lois, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Musical) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (as Helena) in 1997. She played the lead role in the London transfer of Song of Singapore from Chichester Festival Theatre in 2001, where she has also appeared in plays that include A Small Family Business, Arcadia and The Man who Came to Dinner.
Calthorpe, who graduated from LAMDA in 2005, has since appeared in The Voysey Inheritance at the National Theatre and in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Theatre Royal, York.
Coote returns to the role of Penny, having played the same role in the original Australian production of the show. It was her first major stage show, though she’s worked in all aspects of the entertainment industry, including theatre, film, television and modelling.
In addition to the above, Dirty Dancing will feature Nigel Williams as Max Kellerman, Rae Baker as Vivian, Billy Boyle as Mr. Schumacher, Richard Dempsey as Neil Kellerman, Jason Griffiths as Moe Pressman, Richard Lloyd King as Tito Suarez, Ben Mingay as Billy, Richard O’Brien as Robbie (another veteran of the Australian production—not to be confused with the creator of The Rocky Horror Show), Brian Saccente as Stan and Ursula Smith as Mrs. Schumacher.
The stage version was written and created by Eleanor Bergstein, who also wrote the original film, directed by James Powell and choreographed by Kate Champion. Dirty Dancing will begin performances on 29 September at the Aldwych Theatre. It officially opens there on 24 October.