National Tour of "Dirty Dancing: The Musical" at the Ordway Center

One of the most beloved movies of all time (at least to those of us of a certain generation) is back on stage and LIVE! Eleanor Bergstein's stage adaptation of her hit 1987 movie Dirty Dancing is opening a brand new North American tour right here at the Ordway in St. Paul. What used to be known as Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage (and stopped at the Orpheum across the river in 2014) has been revamped with an all new creative team under director Lonny Price, and a new name: Dirty Dancing: The Musical. "The classic story on stage" is a more appropriate subtitle (and is still being used in the UK), but Americans love musicals, so Dirty Dancing: The Musical it is! Despite the fact that technically this is not a musical, it's a play with music, and in this case that's a very good thing. Meaning, they didn't turn this iconic story into a muuuuusical by writing new songs for the characters to sing to each other, it's really just the movie we love recreated live on stage with fantastically talented dancers, singers, actors, and musicians. If you love Dirty Dancing, as so many of us do, it's an absolute thrill to hear this iconic soundtrack played and sung live and watch the iconic dance moves, as this love story we know and love so well plays out exactly as we expect. It's a comfort, and a joy. And it's here for a nice long run, through September 6, so head to lovely downtown St. Paul, eat in one of the many restaurants (I love Ruam Mit), maybe even stay overnight at one of the downtown hotels (I recommend the charming boutique hotel Celeste, in an old convent), and have the time of your life. But please buy your tickets only from the Ordway's official site, not from any third-party vendor (which could be a scam).

Broadway tour of "The Notebook" at Ordway Center for Performing Arts

It took twenty years for the popular 2004 tear-jerker The Notebook, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel, to become a Broadway musical, and now the national tour is playing at the Ordway Center in St. Paul for two weeks. And on opening night, Mr. Sparks himself was there to watch his story told musically, along with producer Kevin McCollum, who used to work at the Ordway. I don't think I've ever read the book, and haven't seen the movie in at least a decade, so I went into the musical without any real attachment to the source material. I found it to be well-adapted, with a clever and effective overlapping of the three timelines in the story, exploring relevant themes of memory, time, relationships, dementia, and family, with an easy to listen to and emotionally true score by singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. It's also the rare Broadway musical that's less than two a half hours long, and feels just the right length, not overstaying its welcome. See it in lovely downtown St. Paul, already decked out for the holidays in twinkling lights, through November 30.