December 2014 Reviews - London

Reviews of the show
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ERinVA
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December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by ERinVA »

Here's the thread for December reviews.
Ellen



"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983


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kport
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by kport »

Gosh.

I am back in Florida, rather jet-lagged, and I have to initiate the first December review from London, four days (and 3200 miles) later?

OK!

Monday Dec 1.

What can I say? It was just about as perfect as a London/VPT show can be. Great cast; great music (Chris Hatt was in situ; I love his little expositions on the keyboard score; great stuff!); great, responsive audience. The whole show worked as it should. 'One for the Album'. One year to the day I saw Bradley for the first time. One of the Greats. Astounding show.

Will that do?
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ERinVA
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by ERinVA »

They are all great, aren't they?
Ellen



"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983


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kport
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by kport »

ERinVA wrote:They are all great, aren't they?
They are. And they progress up the scale of adjectival greatness:

Great
Greater
Greatest


And, the ultimate accolade:

One of the Greats.

Really....we are splitting hairs, are we not?
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patc
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by patc »

Thursday Matinee 4th December

Visitors to London today were greeted by very murky weather. Oxford Street was awash with small pools and brollies and hats were the order of the day. Inside the VPT, though, it was, as it always is, sunshine all the way.

At this stage of his Billy career so much has already been written about Elliott Hanna that it is positively a literary challenge to try to expand on this. The easy answer would be, maybe, just tell everyone to watch the Blu-ray/DVD but it is only when you are actually live in the presence of this extraordinary talent that the full extent of what he has achieved and can do at such a young age hits you straight between the eyes. Like a champion surfer perfectly negotiating gnarly waves he almost effortlessly takes us spellbindingly on the rocky journey that Billy takes from “satdy mawnin’ buxin” to RBS leaving a trail of drama, laughter, tears and unforgettable dancing in his wake. We mere mortals can only watch in admiration.

I watched with a little trepidation as a little “helicopter” hovered about three feet above the stage not long after the interval. I was glad that Sindy’s hair was well stuck on because Elliott was giving her a right horizontal twirl at a rate of knots and she might have ended up in Row H had he let go or had the hair come unstuck. Tomi was aghast as his newly purchased treasure lived dangerously for those few anxious moments. Speaking of Tomi what a treasure he is mixing Michael’s free spirit and pathos into a cocktail of delicious authenticity. Connie gave a repeat performance of what we saw last Thursday and confirmed her status as a Debbie of the highest quality with plenty to say and not taking any nonsense from anybody. She climbed the toilet wall in one go, too.

Lee Hoy was the Essex Dancer not from Glasgow and did an hilarious job with Deka front of stage.

The new Westoe Ballet Girl team made their Thursday Matinee debut and they were just brilliant. Well trained, bursting with youthful energy and much talent and, obviously, loving every second onstage we shall enjoy watching them do their thing over the next six months or so.

I treasure every Billy show I get to see. Each one has not only a mega bundle of theatrical bliss but also an abiding therapeutic salubrity. As Jack Keats put it:

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness;

…and Elliott & Co. gave us another beauty today.

Pat
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by Borrobil »

Seems another top show, Pat. (and I only had to google one word in the whole review ;) ).
Lee Hoy was the Essex Dancer not from Glasgow
Essex? can't see how Jackie can empathise with an Essex boy. They could at least pick somewhere that Jackie would think understood his anti-thatcher views or a mining area like Kent or Sheffield.
~ Paul ~
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by Bridget40 »

Another Thursday, and another chance to sneak away from work with a colleague to watch the matinee at the VPT.

It was another faultless display by Elliot. (Barring the obligatory skipping mistake :D ) He really does have so much confidence in his performance, a confidence that only comes with so much experience in the role, and this comes across so well on stage. You can see why they picked him for Billy live, he seems to be at the top of his Billy game right now.

It was my first time seeing Tomi. I thought he was suberb. I like the way that each Michael has his own, unique comic shtick. I wonder if the production gives every Michael his own thing, or whether they allow the kids to express themselves in their own way, and come up with stuff themselves.

I just wanted to mention David Muscat as Mr Braithwaite. No matter how many times I see him, he still makes me chuckle. I love the way in which he engages the audience when he is at the forefront of a scene, but I also like watching him when he is in the background, his facial expression and mannerisms.

The Essex ballet dancer does not work as well for me as the Glasgow one, but it is still very funny. Talking of ballet dancers... How graceful a dancer is Barnaby. I always love his dream ballet. He seems to have a lot of rapport with the Billys.

My friend had never seen the film, let alone the musical. He is gay, and could not understand the whole... "Just cause I do ballet, doesn't make me a poof ya know." He wasn't offended by it, he just felt it would have been more interesting, and challenging a piece if it was... "I do do ballet, and so what if I am a poof."

He did really enjoy the show though. As did I.........
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by patc »

Thursday 11th December - all day

Lucky I got out of London today before the big Air Traffic Control glitch otherwise I’d have needed Brodie to get me home, LOL, - explanation further down.

The first half of yesterday’s double act at the VPT was performed in front of a massive enthusiastic crowd (same for the evening show, BTW – looks like the Live Billy is now packing ‘em in for the real thing).

Since he started over a year ago all along the way Bradley has been very busy setting up his brilliant individual Billy persona and, when all the pieces in the jigsaw came together, the picture we got was a masterpiece formed by dedication, hard work and skill. However, the difference between a normal jigsaw and a Billy jigsaw is that, if and when he chooses, a Billy can replace any piece with another one of the same shape but with a slightly different picture and get the same result. That way you can look always forward with gusto to his next show and discover what pieces have been switched. Bradley’s Letter was a classic example. From the moment he began to sing, (voice still in perfect nick), with increasing intensity his whole body began to visibly shake with emotion until the point of breakdown was reached and Ruthie took over. Acting of the highest class.

It’s one thing being on that stage and hearing the applause from a mainly adult audience but when a large proportion is made up of your peers it must have a particular significance. After a bit of an absence over the past month or so the big school groups were back at the matinee both upstairs and downstairs and, so, Bradley was able to bask in the glory of their cheers and applause as well as that of the older brigade. One way or another the smile of appreciation beaming its way to the back of the theatre after another top-class street Electricity and when taking his bow was great to see.

It is always an exciting moment when you know you are about to see a brand new Billy perform for the first time. Sometimes you get to see him early but other times great patience is required. I suppose a 23 day wait on this occasion is not too bad (it took me 6 months to get to see Travis way back when). Anyway, it was Brodie’s name on the board for the evening show. He is, of course, in the early stages of building his full Billy jigsaw picture but you could tell within a very short time that the company has unearthed yet another treasure in the long line of incredibly talented boys. He came across as a very cool, calm and collected customer taking his time and not rushing his lines – in fact, his timing was superb. It was quite breath-taking to watch it all unfold in a stunning first half performance powered to a finish with a fantastic Angry Dance. Slightly built, Brodie, nevertheless, had enough power and agility to shake the floor.

One thing we didn’t get to see in Part 1 was a flip off the piano in Boogie. I think he may just have been a millisecond behind in the change of footwear and “the boss” must have signalled a no. Judging by what we saw in Part 2 this will be worth waiting for because this Billy seems to have no fear of flying not to mention being as light as a feather. During a smooth and delicious Dream Ballet he flew over Barnaby’s back like a darting Spitfire but the piéce-de-resistance was the wall flip at the end of his exceedingly beautiful ballet Electricity. We haven’t had a wall flip for some considerable time but, still, I’m always a bit nervous as the run-up begins. What followed was nothing short of spectacular as Brodie soared into space, probably could have gone around three times whilst in the air and landed perfectly on a steady and firm undercarriage as the roars of approval and admiration rung out. I can’t wait to see this again. He may well become the first Billy to land on the Moon.

I always laugh at and enjoy the versatility and matter-of-factness of boyhood exemplified by the Billys, after their Electricity, walking back out on stage a few seconds later munching on a bit of grub and totally unfazed whereas the rest of us would be on the couch (or more likely the floor) gasping for air.

As at the matinee, a huge standing ovation awaited this wonderful cast at the end of two memorable shows. The intensive effort put in by each and every cast member every show is enormous. When they all come out for the unrivalled Finale you can see that all the intensity has disappeared and they are all cleared to delight us with their delightful dancing frolics and smiles. I reckon they all love it as much as we do.

Bonus: It was lovely to see Deborah Bundy back (again!).

…and so another fascinating day came to a close. Never a dull moment. Roll on next week.

Pat
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by Billy Whiz »

A brilliant review as always, Pat.

Thank you very much for taking the time to write it. It is appreciated by me and, I'm sure, lots of other members.
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Re: December 2014 Reviews - London

Post by porschesrule »

I'd like to echo Billy Whiz's comments, patc.

I enjoy reading all the reviews here, but I must admit that an extra smile crosses my face when I see one from you. You are surely gifted with imagination and with writing skills that I particularly enjoy when I see a review from you.

Thanks!

And as Billy Whiz would say "Keep 'em coming!"
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