If you've been to see Ray in Dirty Dancing,please write your reviews here

As everyone know I went to Ray's opening night in Dirty Dancing last night.Ray was fantastic,his vocals are really strong,and he hits all the notes in his songs brilliantly :D.Ray sings 2 main songs In The Still Of the Night,which was so beautiful,and also I've Had the Time Of My Life.Ray also sings parts of Do You Love Me,and Yes in the reprise in the finale :).Ray's accent is really strong and his acting is strong and has emotion too.I must say,I do think Ray is under used, and I think the role could have been extended to suit Ray's talents,I think many things could have been done to extend the role,But besides that when Ray is onstage,your eyes are instantly drawn to him and he has such stage presence,you cannot take your eyes off him.He has 2 costume changes,both wearing Kellermans t-shirts :).Ray does dance at the end with Lisa,and also up on the bridge with one of the ensemble.His dancing is as strong as ever.Billy is very much like Doody,in the way,he is always trying to get the girl,but isn't confident enough,and he looks up to his cousin Johnny a lot :).You could see in Ray's eyes he was really enjoying himself.All the other cast were good,I particulary liked Nadia Coote,who played Penny.Hannah Vassallo and Johnny Wright were also good :).The stage has a revolve which is used a lot,and also the bridge which pops up at the front,sitting in the first row,when the bridge is raised you can't see the action behind it,although this wasn't a problem most of the time.I thought the backdrop imagery was creative too.All in all it is a fab show,and if you like the film,you'll love the stage show.I did manage to see Ray both before and after the show,and he was chatty and happy to sign autographs and have pictures taken.He loved all the cards too :).When I first saw Ray it had just been raining,and his t-shirt was soaked,bless him.I had a fantastic day and I can't wait to go again

Thanks for tyhe wonderful review, Amanda. Lucky you getting to meet Ray again. I go next Monday and I'm on the front row too. Trisha x

Trisha at July 27, 2010 at 2:49 PM

Thanks for tyhe wonderful review, Amanda. Lucky you getting to meet Ray again. I go next Monday and I'm on the front row too. Trisha x

You'll have a fab time

Thanks for the review Amanda, glad he gets to do some dancing, I thought he'd be singing parts of Do You Love Me and Yes because of the cast recording.  Glad you got to see him before and after the show. 

Thank you Amanda for the review and the great photos. Did Ray get a great response from the audience?

Linda Anne at July 27, 2010 at 3:20 PM

Thank you Amanda for the review and the great photos. Did Ray get a great response from the audience?

Yeah there were quite a few Ray fans in the sudience last night

And were there lots of them at the stage door too?

A fair few were round there,but it wasn't too crowded,so it was nice

great review amanda, shame Ray wasn't used to his full potential, but as you said he looked like he was enjoying it. can't wait to go myself.

Thanks for the report Amanda.

Sorry posted this on the Dirty Dancing thread instead of here on the Review Thread, so thought I would repost here. I wrote this when I got home from the show on the opening night.

"Back from the show. I know others were there who will do a full review, and I will be there again shortly so will review then. But I know people will be keen to know how it went, so just to say that the show was brilliant and Ray sang superbly, showing what a great range he has. His american accent was also excellent! Lovely to see his parents, aunt and uncle and Emmas mum there supporting him on his opening night. "

Thanks for the lovely reviews Amanda and Dancingles. Sounds like you both had a great time. So pleased that Rays family were there to support him. Glad you got to meet him before and after the show Amanda. Is the stage door hard to find?.

dancingles at July 27, 2010 at 7:45 PM

Sorry posted this on the Dirty Dancing thread instead of here on the Review Thread, so thought I would repost here. I wrote this when I got home from the show on the opening night.

 

"Back from the show. I know others were there who will do a full review, and I will be there again shortly so will review then. But I know people will be keen to know how it went, so just to say that the show was brilliant and Ray sang superbly, showing what a great range he has. His american accent was also excellent! Lovely to see his parents, aunt and uncle and Emmas mum there supporting him on his opening night. "

 

 

Glad you had a great time Dancingles :).Sorry I didn't get to see you.Have a fab time when you go next

It was lovely meeting Anja,Vivienne and Pearl again

sue at July 28, 2010 at 2:19 AM

Thanks for the lovely reviews Amanda and Dancingles. Sounds like you both had a great time. So pleased that Rays family were there to support him. Glad you got to meet him before and after the show Amanda. Is the stage door hard to find?.

No stage door is really easy to find,you pass the stage door on the way to the theatre,if you are coming from Covent Garden tube station

Tah 4 the review Manda.:)I bet everything about his performacne will get even stronger throughout the run!

Rachelle Quinn at July 28, 2010 at 5:54 AM

Tah 4 the review Manda.:)I bet everything about his performacne will get even stronger throughout the run!

Ray is fab already,his performance,acting,singing and dancing to me were brilliant

Well, i think everything has been said already. I went on monday nite, and was sitting in row a, and it was only in the interval that i realised amanda was sitting in the front row, with her watermelon dress!! Ray was fab but i do feel that they could have used him to his full potential. Some of the high notes he hit were phenomenal!! We didnt go to stage door because I was really tired, but as we were walking out of the theatre, my mum pointed to some people and they were Rays family, and they seemed really  nice and friendly!! Mum says she'll take me again soon though, so hopefully it wont be long till i have a picture in the stage door thread!!

* I also thought that he must be feeling slightly deflated, whilst watching the others all dance around him, with him being a superb dancer. I do hope his next role will involve more dancing, as I love watching him in his natural confort zone. Although Johnny Wright was very good, some of the moves he performed, such as the one handed lift, Ray would be certainly

capable of and more, so I am hoping, that after the panto, we might have a "Doody ------ Danny" situation, as that would be a dream come true!! Even my mum said she would have prefered Ray as Johnny, as he and Baby would make a good dancing couple.

Interested in some of the comments, in that I think Ray is used to his full potential in the role he is cast in. The role of Billy is the main male vocal role in the show, which Ray performs superbly. It is not a dancing role as such. This is a worldwide production and the producers would not alter a particular role to accommodate one actor for a few months. The show is identically cast and choreographed wherever it is performed. Ray has been cast for his vocal ability, which everyone who has been so far would agree is suberb.

I certainly don't think he would be deflated at all. Firstly because I don't believe that is his nature, but also because he knew exactly what the role involved when he was cast. I think anyone going will realise it is not the main lead, but more of a cameo role which Ray performs superbly, exactly as is expected of him. Ray could certainly perform the dance moves of Johnny, but to some extent it would depend who was cast as Penny, as Nadia who currently plays the role is very tall and it would look slightly incongruous, although the scenes with Hannah as Baby would not be problematic as she is small.

I think Ray is really enjoying being in the show and a production of this calibre is fantastic for him to be in. I know everyone who follows Ray would love him to be on stage most of the time, but he is playing the role exactly as would be expected of him and does it excellently.