Dirty Dancing star chats to Marion Sauvebois ahead of show’s opening

“I have never seen Dirty Dancing.”

To say that I was completely thrown by Roseanna Frascona’s answer would be the understatement of the year.

How can anyone go through life never catching even a glimpse of a movie shown at least once a year on nearly every channel in existence? And this certainly is not the reply one would expect from the actress starring as Baby Houseman in the stage adaptation of the now cult 1980s movie.

After all, this is the film which has left generations of young women daydreaming of carrying watermelons at Patrick Swayze’s altar.

But despite the rave reviews lauding her uncanny ability to bring the film heroine to life, Rosie has never haphazardly attempted the famous lift with friends – not until she was cast for the role anyway – or lamented the rarity of rebellious Johnny lookalikes at her secondary school.

“Somehow I’ve managed not to come across it in my childhood, “ said the Oxford University graduate who went on to study acting at the prestigious London drama school LAMDA.

“Of course I had heard about it. I wasn’t living in a box as a child.

“When I got the audition I thought I could watch it the night before but I decided not to. I didn’t want to be an impersonation of Baby. I was probably the only one at the audition not to have seen it.

“People say on Twitter ‘You must have seen the film millions of times because you’re exactly like her’. It’s nice. Hopefully you’re doing something that resonates with the audience.”

And she is not planning a catch-up movie night any time soon.

“I’m going to hold off. I think I’m going to watch it the day after I finish my contract. It’s worked for me so far; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

This does not mean she feels any less of a connection with the timeless protagonists or has not been profoundly moved by Baby’s strength of character, unwavering resolve and unquestionable maturity.

The actress identified with many of the idealistic Baby’s beliefs from the moment she first set eyes on the script.

“She has been quite sheltered and then meets all these people and she stands up for what she believes in. She is learning and changing. It’s just great to play a character who cares about other people.

“Of course she is idealistic. But she genuinely wants to improve make things better.

“I’m like Baby in real life in that I do think there are lots of causes than can be helped – by art, film and theatre. This is not just a love story. It’s set at the time of the civil rights movement and you have the storyline of the abortion and class difference.”

Her emotional connection to the character was only deepened by their shared physical challenge – having to turn professional dancer in just three weeks before being thrown at the deep end on stage.

“We had three weeks to learn the dances. I trained as a straight actor. I did one or two dance classes and had some singing lessons at LAMDA and I did ballet before I went to university but I had never had full-on dance training before. It was very much the journey that Baby goes on physically. I remember the choreographer said ’Remember how you’re feeling now, when Baby learns to dance in the show’.

But unlike the initially gauche and clumsy Baby, she nailed the daunting final lift at the first attempt.

“It was a little bit scary but I thought ‘Right I’ve got to do this’ and I just went for it. Everybody was quite surprised. This is what the characters go through. It keeps you on your toes.”

Dirty Dancing is at the New Theatre, Oxford, from December 9 to January 3.

Tickets cost between £12.90 and £79.90 and are available from the New Theatre box office in George Street, Oxford, on 0844 871 3020 or at www.atgtickets.com/oxford.


 Tickets are £12.90 to £79.90 from the New Theatre box office in George Street, Oxford, 
on 0844 871 3020 or at atgtickets.com/oxford