'Dirty Dancing' Takes To The Stage

The Musical Version Of The Hit '80s Movie Debuts In London

(CBS)  Almost 20 years ago, "Dirty Dancing" was a Hollywood sleeper with a small budget and a big song; the music won an Oscar, but the movie won a legion of fans who turned it into a hugely profitable generational touchstone.

Now the movie is taking to the stage. The shy teenager played by Jennifer Grey and the tough dance teacher played by Patrick Swayze will come to life before a live audience.

So far, it seems like another hit. "Dirty Dancing" opened in London's West End with a record $20 million worth of tickets already sold. Veterans of the serious stage like Dame Judy Dench are singing its praise.

"Either you can stay at home and see the film, or you can get out and see it live. And it's very, very exciting, and its wonderful that everybody knows what's going to happen next," she told The Early Show correspondent Richard Roth. "I want to be in it actually, it made me want to. Give me about a month and I'll do it."

Actually, the open auditions that inspired the hopes of unrecognized actors and dancers, and the grueling rehearsals that followed, were much more than a month's work. But the result, say the two young stars, has success written all over it.

"I think it's just something that everyone can relate to. It's like a fairy tale in a way," said Georgina Rich, who plays Baby. "It's got sort of the Cinderella story running through it, and brilliant dance in it and great music in it. It sort of sweeps you along. It's very exciting."

"It is a very sexy film. It's something to do with the '80s meeting the '60s, and there's something about that that people like — that double nostalgia," said Josef Brown, who plays Patrick Swayze's character, Johnny.

Some critics said the show merely made them nostalgic for the movie. Qentin Letts of the British paper the Daily Mail, called it "jiggly rubbish."

" 'Dirty Dancing' is about fun. It's going to attract all the hen parties. They're going to love it, they're going to think the guy is really hunky, and they're going to go out having had a good tuneful night. But I don't think that really it's going to be memorable as art," he said.