Be My Baby! Samuel Pergande & Jillian Mueller Will Star in the National Tour of Dirty Dancing

You're going to love them! Samuel Pergande and Jillian Mueller have been cast as Johnny Castle and Frances “Baby” Houseman, respectively, in the North American tour of Dirty Dancing—The Classic Story on Stage. The stage musical of the worldwide smash-hit film is set to begin performances August 26 in Washington, D.C. before continuing to cities across the country.

In addition to Pergande (Billy Elliot tour) and Mueller (Flashdance—The Musical), the cast of Dirty Dancing will feature Doug Carpenter as Billy Kostecki, Jerome Harmann-Hardeman as Tito Suarez, Caralyn Kozlowski as Marjorie Houseman, Jesse Liebman as Neil Kellerman, Gary Lynch as Max Kellerman, Herman Petras as Mr. Schumacher, Emily Rice as Lisa Houseman, Mark Elliot Wilson as Dr. Jake Houseman and Jenny Winton as Penny Johnson.

The company also includes John Antony, Rachel Boone, Amanda Brantley, Jon Drake, Josh Drake, Sam Edgerly, Rashaan James, II, Joshua Keith, Alexandra Matteo, Kevin Munhall, Phoebe Pearl, Virginia Preston, Michael Thomas Pugliese, Jennlee Shallow and Nicole Spencer.

Based on the 1987 film of the same name, Dirty Dancing features a book by Eleanor Bergstein, who also penned the screenplay for the film. The production will be directed by James Powell with choreography by Michele Lynch, based on the original choreography by Kate Champion. With unforgettable songs like "Hungry Eyes," the Academy Award-winning "(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life," and classics like "Do You Love Me?," Dirty Dancing is a pop culture icon.

It’s the summer of 1963, and 17-year-old Frances “Baby” Houseman is on vacation in New York’s Catskill Mountains with her older sister and parents. Mesmerized by the racy dance moves and pounding rhythms she discovers in the resort’s staff quarters, Baby can’t wait to be part of the scene, especially when she catches sight of Johnny Castle, the resort’s sexy dance instructor. Passions ignite and Baby’s life changes forever when she is thrown in to the deep end as Johnny’s leading lady, both on-stage and off.

The creative team for Dirty Dancing includes scenic design by Stephen Brimson Lewis, lighting design by Tim Mitchell, costume design by Jennifer Irwin, sound design by Bobby Aitken, video and projection design by Jon Driscoll, hair design by Bernie Ardia, orchestrations by Conrad Helfrich and music direction by Alan Plado.