Set in the 1960s, the 1987 Dirty Dancing movie was a popular summer love story between a young girl, Frances “Baby” Houseman, and a dance instructor, Johnny Castle. The plot covered class division, reproductive rights and personal growth, among other topics.
The soundtrack sold over 40 million copies worldwide and won Best Original Song at the 60th Academy Awards for “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life.”
The live musical version captures the spirit of the original summer flick set at Kellerman’s resort. One of the talented touring cast members, Antony Sanchez, plays multiple roles, identifies as gay and hails from San Diego.
Sanchez portrays Robbie Gould, the main antagonist and resort waiter. Dirty Dancing: The Musical is his second touring show following West Side Story earlier this year.
Antony’s television credits include American Horror Story, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Dying for Sex.
Dirty Dancing: The Musical began its North American Tour in August and this puts Baby in Chicago’s corner for two weeks starting Sept. 9.
Sanchez called from his hotel to chat about his life on the road as a dirty dancer.
Windy City Times: Where in the world are you calling from?
Antony Sanchez: I am in St. Paul, Minnesota. We just kicked off the tour and it has already been an amazing experience.
WCT: Start with your background.
AS: I am from San Diego and I moved to New York City eight years ago. I started dancing in LA in a little studio right by the Hollywood sign.
After living in California, I decided I wanted to tour with a musical and I was told I lived in the wrong city, so that’s why I moved. Now this is my second time touring and it has been a dream come true.
WCT: Sounds like you manifested this whole thing.
AS: One hundred percent. I originally didn’t know how I would do it, but I was determined to make it happen.
WCT: Were you a singer, dancer or actor at first?
AS: I started as a singer. I was in a show with a girl who encouraged me to be a dancer because I am six feet tall. I took some classes and fell in love with dance, especially ballet. I put singing aside for a while and I attended a dance conservatory.
When I moved to New York, I moved into more acting. I landed some television shows, so instead of kicking my face or singing super high, I was able to be in front of the camera.
WCT: Does the tour keep you active enough to maintain your performance skills?
AS: I play Robbie Gould in the show and he is one of the antagonists in the show. He’s not supposed to be in the dance numbers, but they throw a wig on me and I am in the back somewhere dancing.
We have some amazing dancers in the cast and our ensemble member Zoe Edan Lemelman teaches hip hop classes periodically. We try to keep our bodies moving and not lose any technique to avoid injuries.
WCT: So you are learning some drag moves while wearing a wig in the background?
AS: I have never worn a wig as an adult before, but it’s fun to throw on the wig and become a different person for a couple of dance numbers, kind of like Rent.
WCT: Do you identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community?
AS: Yes. I have been gay as long as I can remember and my mom has known it that long. I grew up in San Diego and thankfully it was a place to be very open about it.
There was never a time in my life when it was shunned or someone made me feel bad about it. My high school community had many people who were gay, so I never felt a need to hide it or feel ashamed about it.
I love being gay!
WCT: In the Playbill, you send love to Hunter. Who is that?
AS: Hunter Ryan Herlicka is my partner and we have been together for over two and a half years. We met on the dating app Hinge. He is also a performer and he played Fredrik in A Little Night Music on Broadway.
WCT: What led you to Dirty Dancing: The Musical?
AS: The director for Dirty Dancing, Lonny Price, was also the director for my last tour, West Side Story. We had heard rumors that he would be directing Dirty Dancing: The Musical and I messaged my agent because I wanted to audition.
My first audition wasn’t with him. It was with our choreographers Darrell Grand Moutrie and Abdur-Rahim Jackson. I went through six callbacks and these are not short sessions. In one of them, I was in there for six hours.
I understudy Johnny Castle, so I partner with everybody. The people who are playing in the current show, I was lucky enough to work with months ago.
Lonny is a lovely and generous director. If something is not working, then we talk and work it out. He is so kind and he is a father figure to me.
WCT: So your character Robbie is a waiter and a medical student?
AS: What can he not do? Yes, he is a waiter at Kellerman’s resort in the Catskills. He is there so he can make money to pay for Yale. I don’t think he needs the money and he is there for a good time. That might rub people the wrong way and it does. Baby and Robbie have a little tiff, but it’s okay to disagree. He is trying to get with every girl that he sees because he can, which is not always good.
It’s fun to play him and also jump into the ensemble to dance dirty.
WCT: How long are you into the tour so far?
AS: We just opened two weeks ago. I didn’t know how the audience would respond to a show like this and this is the craziest audience I have ever seen. The first song starts to play and people just freak out. They hear the line about “watermelon” and people cheer.
Every night the audience will surprise you and that makes me excited to perform for them. There’s something in the water because people are going nuts for it.
WCT: Something in the watermelon, maybe. They should serve watermelon martinis in the lobby at the bar.
AS: I hope they do. I will have to go out in the lobby and see one night…
WCT: The soundtrack was extremely popular when the movie came out. Is the music used to enhance the play?
AS: I would describe it as more of a play with dance, with some amazing singers. Ashley Lalonde and Ethan Peterson sing the majority of the songs woven into the show. Baby and Johnny don’t sing anything and live their life through the music around them.
I think that is beautiful because the actor can be in the moment when someone else is singing. It is a unique way of telling a story.
WCT: Has the iconic dance lift ever gone wrong?
AS: Let’s knock on wood because it hasn’t gone wrong. We practice lifts every day before the show and every night they always deliver. It is always thrilling to see that lift happen at the end.
WCT: You play Robbie and you are part of the ensemble. Did you mention that you also understudy Johnny Castle as well?
AS: I haven’t started rehearsing for it just yet, but I have been studying his blocking and his lines. When I have a spare moment, I will go through some of the dance moves with the Baby understudy.
The leads have been good about taking care of themselves, so they haven’t called off yet. We have been in rehearsals for over two months in New York City, so it has been nonstop and they are rockstars.
WCT: The original material didn’t depict very much diversity, but what about the musical cast?
AS: I represent the Latin population without the story necessarily needing to have a Latin person.
There is a solo in the show by a Black person, which is special because this was the time period of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The show is not set in 2026, but we throw in some hip-hop dancing and all kinds of Easter eggs.
WCT: How do you feel the Dirty Dancing abortion controversy will play out while touring across America?
AS: Eleanor Berstein, who wrote the original screenplay, was ahead of her time. To put something going wrong in the piece is a powerful statement. It is important to talk about these things and have access, especially now.
WCT: When is the last time you had “The Time of Your Life?”
AS: The last time I did the show. The last number is so electric. There was a woman in the front row with her hands in the air while singing and dancing.
Afterward, the cast talked about how that felt to see the audience celebrate the show. I love Les Misérables, but we are not focused on death like that show. Dirty Dancing is all about love in the summertime.
I look out at the audience and think about how grateful I am to be in this show every week.
WCT: There was a Dirty Dancing television show and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, but I heard they are developing a direct sequel with Jennifer Grey reprising her role. Did you know about that?
AS: No. What will the movie be about?
WCT: Maybe Baby goes to Washington. Who knows? I heard Jennifer has signed on.
AS: I need to see it.
WCT: Do you have a favorite musical of all time?
AS: I like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat because I love a rainbow coat. I have done West Side Story many times, so I am a big love story depicted in a musical kind of person.
WCT: How was your experience of international touring in West Side Storyas Bernardo?
AS: It was life-changing and a dream come true. I never thought I would go to so many countries so quickly. We stayed in Paris, India and Tokyo, among other places.
Spoiler alert: Bernardo dies at the end of Act One, so I got to sit in my dressing room the rest of the time and relax.
WCT: Talk about your part in the television show American Horror Story.
AS: They didn’t tell me what show I was auditioning for when I sent in a tape. They called me and told me I would be playing an orgy stud. They said I would be naked and on top of another man for about 12 hours. I had a line and I was in the Ryan Murphy universe, so I was up for it.
WCT: I loved Michelle Williams in the miniseries Dying for Sex. How was being on the show?
AS: I love her! The day I came back from tour, I got that audition. They told me to act crazy and they liked it, so I got to be with her on set all day. She had bright pink hair at the time and she was so sweet.
We were dancing with all of these sex toys around us. I always seem to end up in an insane scene on these various TV shows.
WCT: Maybe you should visit the leather bar in Chicago…
AS: I have never been to Chicago. I am ready to explore the city because I have heard great things.
Dirty Dancing: The Musical dances to the beat of its own drum for two weeks in the Windy City from Sept. 9-20 at James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.
Use those “Hungry Eyes” to search broadwayinchicago.com for tickets and information.