‘Dirty Dancing’ Broadway Musical in the Works for 2025

Lionsgate wants theatergoers to have the time of their lives, so the studio is adapting “Dirty Dancing” as a Broadway musical.

“Dirty Dancing: The Musical” will launch in late 2025 with aspirations for Broadway as well as a North American run. From there, producers plan to expand the show to theater markets in Asia, Australia, Latin America and beyond.

Eleanor Bergstein, who wrote the film’s screenplay, is developing the show and writing the book of the musical. Lonny Price, who played Neil Kellerman in “Dirty Dancing,” will direct the re-envisioned production. He’s a Tony nominee for “A Class Act” and “110 in the Shade” and originated the role of Charley Kringas in the ill-fated 1981 run of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along.”

The 1987 film starred Jennifer Grey as Frances “Baby” Houseman, a young woman who falls in love with dance instructor Jonny Castle (Patrick Swayze) at a resort in New York’s Catskills during summer 1963. “Dirty Dancing” grossed $214 million at the box office, while the 11th act musical number “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” won the Oscar for best original song. The movie also introduced the line “nobody puts Baby in a corner” in the cultural lexicon.

The upcoming stage production is expected to feature new music and fresh choreography. According to the official press release, the show will “deliver iconic moments, unforgettable songs, and electrifying dance sequences, while reimagining key elements of the story to resonate with today’s theatregoers.”

Over the decades, “Dirty Dancing” inspired spinoffs and various reimaginings, including a little-seen prequel film, 2004’s “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights,” the 2004 musical “Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage,” and a 2017 made-for-TV remake, starring Abigail Breslin and Colt Prattes. A direct sequel, with Grey reprising her role as Baby, has been in the works since 2020.

Bergstein was involved in the “Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage,” which is separate from this new production, though she expressed that the reception for the first theatrical take “exceeded my sweetest dreams.”

“Now we’ve come full circle, and with my old friend Lonny Price by my side, I’m returning to the stage with a reimagined version,” Bergstein said in a statement. “Its hope is to be equal to the new world swirling around us while revisiting more fully and precisely the story I’d wanted to tell when I wrote my first lines. It’s my way of saying thank you to you all.”

Price promises the show will offer audiences a “deeper, more nuanced version of the characters they fell in love with [in the movie].”

“Having played Neil in the movie, I know full well the scores of people who have been touched by this story, and for me to return to Kellerman’s and direct this new musical iteration truly is a thrill,” he said.

David Hutchinson, CEO of The Path Entertainment Group, and Nathan Brine, director of live stage productions at Showpath Entertainment, are producing “Dirty Dancing: The Musical” and called the film “a cultural touchstone.”

“We’re honored to be part of its evolution,” they said in a statement. “We’re confident that this new version will surprise and captivate audiences, whether they’re longtime fans or new to the story – in this thrilling and faithful retelling on stage.“

“Dirty Dancing: The Musical” is the latest movie that Lionsgate is expanding beyond the screen, with stage versions of “La La Land” and “Wonder” being developed for Broadway and “The Hunger Games” expected to open on London’s West End.

“‘Dirty Dancing’ continues to be one of the most enduring and impactful titles in Lionsgate’s library,” the studio’s executive VP and head of global products and experiences Jenefer Brown said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to create a live experience that honors the cultural significance and storytelling magic of the original film while inviting a new generation to fall in love with ‘Dirty Dancing.’”