"Nobody puts Baby in a corner." And apparently no one can keep her from the spotlight, as Frances "Baby" Houseman and all the familiar characters of the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing" will now be making their way to the theatrical stage.

Following a reading of the Eleanor Bergstein stage adaptation from her screenplay, the new musical will be put into workshops Aug. 6-Sept. 28. The musical will not be a "traditional" Broadway piece, as characters in the show will use music as people do in real life: around a campfire, at a piano, at a talent show. The Catskills summer resort of Kellerman's makes the natural setting for such occurrences.

No stranger to the screen-to-theatre genre, producing company Dodger Theatricals also handled the stage version of "Footloose." Set to direct Dirty Dancing are Diane Paulus and Randy Weiner, the married co-creators of Off-Broadway's The Donkey Show.

In 1987, "Dirty Dancing" starring Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey and Jerry Orbach was a box-office hit, surprising many. Bergstein told Playbill On-Line (March 2000) "They told me, 'Be happy you've written something that will only be seen by kids...and will be quickly forgotten.'" 14 years later, she's still proving them wrong.

— by Ernio Hernandez