Dirty Dancing: The Time of My Life

It would have been the Summer of 1963 when I would have fallen in love with Johnny at Kellerman. His charm, bad boy spirit, cocky attitude, heart throbbing, fine as wine having, and dirty dancing self would have been more than enough to call me his darling and his little baby.

But, it wasn’t me whom caught his attention; it was Frances, better known as Baby that had hungry eyes and managed to steal his heart in this complicated love story.

And that was Oh Kay because; I ended up with my new age Johnny, my one of a kind lover boy, my very own Mr. He took me on a special Sun(date) to experience the classic story of Dirty Dancing on the stage at The National Theatre.

As I strutted down Pennsylvania Avenue, I couldn’t stop smiling at the fact that I was really going to see my favorite movie in the entire world. I giggled at an old memory from my preteen years where I would constantly attempt to mimic the dirty, sexy and hot steamy dancing that was portrayed in the movie.

My momma’s best friend, Vanessa, would yell out to her, “Tonda!!!….This girl in here dancing sexy, again!”

“Poodie! Sit your ass down!” She would demand.

But I was too lost in the beat of the music and trapped in the lyrics that I couldn’t control the swaying of my hips, the roll of my body, or the smile in my eyes for me to even stop. It was the sting of a switch that made me snap out of my dirty dancing episodes. Momma didn’t tolerate mannish behaviors.

As I finally sat on the 4^th row in the orchestra holding the Mr.’s hand, anxiously waiting to see scene after scene, I took a break to whisper in his ear, “This is my favorite part.” But his head was moving strange. It was creeping down to his chest and then yanked itself up.

“Wake up, boy!” I said through the thin spaces in my teeth as I pinched his hand.

He might’ve had a rough time falling in love with the dirty dancing party, Baby’s first dance, their first kiss, Lisa’s classic closing performance, Dr. Houseman’s emergency deed, or better yet the entire show; But I sure as hell didn’t. I was still head over heels.

Every cast member:

Frances “Baby” Houserman~Jillian Mueller

Johnny Castle~Samuel Perande

Elizabeth~Jennlee Shallow

Dr. Jake Houserman~Mark Elliot Wilson

Marjorie Houserman~Caralyn Kozlowski

Lisa Houserman~Emily Rice

Billy Kostecki/Singer~Doug Carpenter

Max Kellerman~Gary Lynch

Neil Kellerman~Jessie Liebman

Penny Johnson~Jenny Winton

Mr. Schumacher~Herman Petras