After two decades we still can't get enough of Dirty Dancing

By Maureen Coleman – 18 February 2013

The Belfast premiere won't take place for another 18 months and the cast has yet to be announced.

But already tickets are selling fast for the West End production Dirty Dancing, which will run at the Grand Opera House from July 29 to August 16 next year.

The musical was written by Eleanor Bergstein, who penned and co-produced the phenomenally successful 1987 film.

It made stars out of the two lead actors, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, and spawned a multi-platinum soundtrack which remained number one in the US Billboard charts for 18 weeks.

The stage production features all the much-loved characters and original dialogue from the film, with some extra scenes added in. The show ended its West End run in July 2011 and began a nationwide tour two months later. Since then, it has wowed audiences across the UK, breaking box office records and playing to full houses and five-star reviews.

The Belfast premiere will be part of a new UK tour and the actors have yet to be cast.

But that hasn't stopped fans from snapping up tickets.

A spokeswoman for the Grand Opera House said: "Dirty Dancing may not be coming here until the summer of 2014 but there is already huge interest in it. Tickets went on sale on Monday this week and by the end of the day we had sold £21,000 worth. There are another three weeks of sales and we are expecting tickets to fly out the door.

"The casting for this UK tour hasn't been announced yet but it seems the musical has caught people's attention. It was such an iconic movie and the West End show has done really well."

PR boss Michelle McTernan, a huge fan of the film, is definitely going to see it.

"I went to see it in the West End a few years ago for my sister Jenni's hen night and we all loved it," she said. "This show is really the perfect girls' night out and I can't wait to see it again."

More than five million people worldwide have now seen the production, with the London show alone having been seen by more than 1m. It played for five years at the Aldwych Theatre, breaking all box office records with advance ticket sales of over £15m, which made it the fastest selling West End show ever.

One of the cast, Tyrone man Fra Fee, went on to star in the movie Les Miserables, alongside Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe.