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‘Dirty Dancing’ Youtube Videos Reveal Cast For ABC Remake

By Kirsten Silven
Published on: 13:32 PST, Apr 3, 2016

ABC has released more cast members for its remake of the ever-popular 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, and eager fans can check out the latest info on YouTube. According to Headlines & Global News, ABC’s Dirty Dancing remake will be similar to the original, following the adventures of Baby and her affluent family, artfully juxtaposed against the tougher world of dance instructor Johnny and other members of the working-class staff at a Catskills resort.

“ABC will air a three-hour musical remake of the film about a young woman who travels with her family to a resort in New York’s Catskills Mountains in 1963.”

Cast members announced for the Lionsgate-produced reboot of Dirty Dancing include Oscar-nominated actress Abigail Breslin (Scream Queens) as Baby; dancer Colt Prattes as Johnny; Debra Messing (Will & Grace, Mysteries of Laura) as Baby’s mother Marjorie; Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek and I, Robot) as Baby’s dad Jake; Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars) and Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) as Baby’s older sister Lisa.

Former Pussycat Dolls bandleader and noted dancer Nicole Scherzinger will play Penny in the Dirty Dancing remake on ABC. Penny is the dancer partner of leading man Johnny, and she undergoes a botched abortion after an unwanted pregnancy while working at the upstate New York resort.

Mad Men alum Trevor Einhorn was cast as geeky Neil Kellerman, according to TVLine. Again following the storyline of the original movie In the ABC Dirty Dancing remake, Neil expresses early – albeit unwanted – romantic interest in Baby, who is not impressed by his entitled and nerdy persona.

“To be adapted for television by Jessica Sharzer (American Horror Story) and counting original Dirty Dancing screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein among its executive producers, the remake will feature ‘filmed song and dance performances,’ per producer Lionsgate.”

Wayne Blair will direct the Dirty Dancing remake, while Tony-winning performer Andy Blankenbuehler will head the choreography. Although ABC has not yet announced a premiere date for the new Dirty Dancing made-for-television movie, it will not be performed live.

In addition to her new role as Baby, 19-year-old Breslin recently starred in Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens and previously received an Oscar nomination for her role in the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine. In June 2015 the multi-talented star also released her first studio album, “The World Now.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JAIJeTSFbQ

Prattes faces a unique – and somewhat unenviable – challenge, having to recreate the iconic role of Johnny Castle, who was originally played in the 1987 Dirty Dancing film by the late Patrick Swayze, who lost a painful battle with pancreatic cancer in 2009.

“A dancer, actor, singer and bodybuilder, Prattes is best known for starring in Pink’s music video for ‘Try,'” wrote Headlines & Global News. “He also served as the lead dancer on her The Truth About Love Tour.”

The 47-year-old Messing currently stars in the NBC drama The Mysteries of Laura but is perhaps best known for starring on the network’s popular breakout comedy Will & Grace, which ran for eight seasons and ended in 2006.

Along with her role as Dunphy on ABC’s Modern Family, Hyland will star in the upcoming Netflix film XOXO, along with horror film Satanic. In addition to playing Captain Pike in two Star Trek movies, 59-year-old Greenwood stars in American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson.

Finally, Johnson Will Marco, an actor who made his debut in Richard Linklater’s film Everybody Wants Some, will play the lead guitarist for Tito’s band in the new ABC Dirty Dancing remake.

[Photo via Twitter]

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