Chapter 35
Frannie looked around the room at all the faces. Some faces she knew; some she did not. She swallowed hard and smiled, not feeling the least bit nervous.
“Thank you all for this wonderful turnout. We have gathered here in this makeshift ballroom tonight to honor my parent’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.� Amid clapping and whistling, she gestured toward the first table where Baby and Johnny were sitting. Frannie smiled and raised her hands in an effort to have them stand. When they did, the clapping only got louder.
“And some said that it would never last,� Frannie smiled, still clapping tears in her eyes.
“But,� she said loudly and waited for all the clapping to stop, “but they have made it to this day and they still adore each other and delight in each other’s company.�
“The show that you are about to see is based on the movie, “Dirty Dancing� inspired by my mother’s book of the same name. It takes place at a small mountain lodge in the Catskills named Kellerman’s.�
The clapping began again, only briefly this time. Frannie held her hands up for silence.
“For this particular show, ballet will tell the story, modern dance will be used for dancing sequences. My husband and I have worked long hours to bring this show to you and Pay-Per-View, by popular demand, has agreed to film this and bring it to the public. So as you sit here and watch, so do millions of other viewers who watch this performance live. My husband and I have put in long, hard hours, but believe me, this has been a labor of love. My parents mean everything to me and this is a tribute to their loving-kindness and caring.�
She looked around the room, tears glistening in her eyes and on her cheeks.
“And as they say on Broadway, lets go on with the show.�
The entire room turned pitch black as all the lights had been turned off. Suddenly, a female voice emanated from the loudspeaker. It was Baby’s voice from the film, played by Jennifer Gray.
“That was the summer of 1963, when everybody called me Baby and it didn’t occur to me to mind. That was before President Kennedy was shot, before the Beatles, when I couldn’t wait to join the Peace Corps and I thought I’d never find a guy as great as my dad. That was the summer we went to Kellerman’s.�
The curtains parted and the lights came up. The show was just beginning.