December 2015 Reviews

Reviews of the show
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jtsw1
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Re: December 2015 Reviews

Post by jtsw1 »

If only I could write like this. Great stuff, tzwicky, keep going!
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tzwicky
George
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Thursday Matinee, Dec. 3rd

Post by tzwicky »

Thursday Matinee, Dec. 3

Well I knew this would happen. I got delayed posting a review (2 of them actually) and since the only notes I take I scribble all over my ticket stub. Luckily the new tickets from the Delfont folks have a lot more white space than the VPT tickets. And I don't augment the notes after the show, because in my book that's cheating. If I can't knock it out on a keyboard, then it doesn't happen.

And, for this show, I think I just left myself in the moment, totally removed from time and space and knocked over and in awe of one of my fave (and new) pairings on the VPT stage, Master Brodie and Master Bradley. Poor Bradley has pairs and pairs and pairs of massive shoes to fill in his role as Michael. But he plays it his way and one way he can't help but play it is ginger. Oh my, where I come from a red-headed boy is nearly a scientific curiosity. But leave the scientific aspects to sociology majors and take note of Bradley's thespian gifts. He's fitting right in as far as I'm concerned and well on the way to finishing each show in total command, alone, on his bike, watching Billy walk out of his life after a very sweet peck on the cheek. I dunno if people have just grown up lately, but that peck used to get some reactions I didn't appreciate (cat calls, and discomfort all around from all the men and guys dragged to the show by their wives and girlfriends). Happily, I have yet to hear that kind of reaction anymore and at this show, with Bradley, that final smooch got an awful lot of "Awwwws." Huzzah!

Speaking of new actors on stage (for me anyway) Tony has been played at every show I've attended in the past 10 days by Matthew Seadon-Young and what a revelation that's been for me. I've always been OK with the many Tonys I've seen. But none of them, perhaps because they played the role a bit tougher than Matthew does, had me sitting up and noticing the way I've been doing since my arrival. He is sooooooooooooooo young. I'd seen him previously in the film "Pride," so Matthew was on my radar. But I didn't realize he'd be on stage when I got here. Cheers to me! The Billy Ghods have smiled on me. He always runs out of the theatre right after the show and zooms toward Victoria Station, and I've nearly thrust a program into his hands and asked for his e-mail address ..... err, autograph. I really like his softer take on Tony, especially in his Christmas Elf costume, but I have not felt the correct critical mass to lead an enthused "Woo-Hoo" like Chris Lemmon always got. Maybe someday.

Brodie never fails to impress me, whether I'm using my smallish monocular or my garishly large binoculars. I am just running out of good things to say about Brodie as seen in the close-up way I watch a show. He's the solid Senior Billy at the moment (I think??) and just continues to reveal his own touches on stage in a way that my "looking for differences from a previous show" causes me to be on the edge of my seat, leaning forward, taking it all in greedily.

The only thing I actually scribbled down for this show was the dreaded note "no wire" that many folk have unfortunately had to deal with this week also. It has been fixed as of Friday night's show and was working optimally for both Saturday shows. I lit a candle at St. Pauls the next day and had it fixed in a few hours. I will continue to claim that little miracle, though the stage folk at Billy would probably say it had something to do with their skills and not necessarily my entreaties to the Billy deities. Each occurrence where the flying rig did not function this week was a bit different from before, and I got to see three misfunctions this week. I'm calling them misfunctions because to use the word "malfunction" might connote something bad. But with BETM, even a goof, a misfire, or a tech problem has a silver lining.

I thought I was going to be able to knock out my review for Thursday night, but I see that that my ticket stub is covered in nearly unreadable scrawl. Rather than risk misreading my own notes, I will spend some time deciphering what I wrote as the play delighted and amazed from the stage.

I have actually been jamming some "other" shows into my 3 week stay in London. I did "Book of Mormon" and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night." I will not be seeing that other show across the street from Billy because every night I walk past that theatre, the patrons out front have lit up like a million cigarettes and some are vapeing in that way that makes it look like a steam main has broken. I think the BETM audience has a lot less smokers, which is another reason that BETM is the play to see in this little disconnected piece of the West End.

(Terribly sorry about the incorrect date that was attached to this review for about a day. I started to cut and paste the date, and we all know what happens when you fail to edit the paste, which is what I did. Thank you if you noticed this error and gave me time to get it right.)

tzwicky
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patc
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Re: December 2015 Reviews

Post by patc »

I’m immensely enjoying your reviews, tzwicky. Thanks. It’s plain to see that you’re having the Billython of your life :D ……and why wouldn’t you when there is so much amazing class and variety to enjoy. As a boy, I loved the Lucky Bag Dip despite never really getting anything worthwhile from it. Every dip in the VPT Lucky Bag brings out a gold nugget, no exceptions.

Pat
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tzwicky
George
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Thursday Evening, Dec. 3

Post by tzwicky »

Thursday Evening, Dec. 3

Just over an hour to knock this one out because I am almost caught up.

Thomas and Tomi are always caught up and start off the Children's dialogue of charm and grace with Billy's perfectly timed "Fucked if I know."

Reality-based theatre is sooooo great and starts out with two little uns turning the air blue. That's my idea of genius. Having seen the show in the US only 6-7 times, I can't even remember if the kids swore like sailors. I'm pretty sure that the versions in Los Angeles produced by Olympic Darling Kathy Rigby (I think it is against the law to refer to her any other way) had been cleansed because we know American audiences like their fantasy G-rated.

But here at the VPT, the swearfest begins quick and gallops onward.

Since it is America's day to remember Pearl Harbor, about 75% of my brain is occupied as I write this. So I am deferring to the notes I crammed during this show which usually just list what seemed new or different to me.

Three of those things were in the boxing scene. The weird one concerns Tall Boy and his request to "have a word" with George. Has anyone ever theorized what the Tall Boy wants to discuss with the thoroughly disagreeable Boxing Coach? I missed it if anyone ever has, but what say we have a few educated guesses?

The other thing I noticed, and I've been assured by full-time BillyManiacs that this is not a new bit, is when Billy is on the floor and George taunts him with the "fat f**ny" line. Yeah, I've heard it forever, but I never noticed Billy looking down at the alleged location of his own f**ny, then making a kind of "meh" look.

Finally, Thomas' version of the Shirley Bassey dance routine is just a joy to behold. He starts a bit slow, and then throws himself in with hips and bum and the "Walk Like an Egyptian" move. I love the interplay, especially when it's Thomas and Tomi when they come nose to nose, one leaning in and the other opposite, two or more times. It's effortless, highly rehearsed, spontaneity that never fails to squeeze gales of laughter from the audience. I could have said "gobs of laughter" but if you've been in windy old London the past few weeks, you know from gales. Perhaps the gales outside help to cause gales inside the VPT?

In a later scene between Billy and Mrs. Wilkinson, when he's finally forced to hand over both week's 50 pence, I never noticed that Thomas (and one other Billy I cannot name at the moment) says "Ripoff" with a sideways glance. The other Billy says it underneath a fake cough sound. How did I not see/hear this before?

I guess the big deal at this show was a mysterious tech issue that caused a short shutdown. Normally you think if it's tech, it has to do with the flying rig. In this case is was the toilet that slides out the right side of the stage. As that scene starts, both Billy and Debbie are in the two stalls. Debbie is supposed to exit soon after, but there was a delay. A person came out from the side and opened Debbie's door. I remember a live mic saying "are you alright in there" just as someone pulled Billy out of his cubicle. I haven't a clue what was going on, but it's interesting, always to see how a cold start of the show happens right after a tech issue and it's always a perfect cold start.

The final thing I noticed at this show, and a tiny little thing it is (nothing to misconstrue or get agitated about), is when Billy is showing Mrs. W. the things he brought that "mean something to him." (The instructions from Mrs. W are never really understood by Billy which is why he brings the baked beans and the packet of soup. Clearly the album was just something Billy jammed into the book bag without much thought.) So while we're all amused by the sight of a Rubick's Cube, Billy is pulling out an old 33 1/3 rpm vinyl disc (old now, but not then) with the title "TV Theme Tunes" which has lots of illustrated vignettes from TV shows popular on the tube at the time, with names and show titles. But, and this is something I will assume I have missed at over 150 shows at the VPT (possibly since I usually sit on the left side of the aisle), that album cover has a standard (I'm no expert) Nazi flag on it. Big swastika on a red flag. The other reason that I might have missed it (even with my garishly large binoculars) is that every Billy (and I have been keeping count every night since I first noticed this) holds the album differently. One holds it at midpoint and his hand easily covers the flag. I think that's Brodie. One of the other boys also holds the album at midpoint but it is one of the smaller Billys and his hand does not quite cover the flag. One Billy held the album totally along the top of the sleeve. The flag is really visible then. Oh, sometimes the chair where Billy's things are shown is further to the left side of the stage than other times, so that limits the amount of people who could even catch that sight if they're looking.

And there ya have it. I have one show left to review (Saturday night) and the one I am seeing tonight.

So, like I've been telling people for years and years when they give me that "Are you nuts" look when I say I've been to 50, 100, 150 or more shows, there is something new to see every time the News Reel plays and the show begins.

Endless variety.
Endless actors working at the top of their talents.
Endless tech people making a clanking, heaving set of elevators work fine more times than not.
Front of theatre staff who can find almost anything you've left behind by mistake.

It's delightful, it's delectable it's Billy Elliot the Musical.

Ya can't get any better.

tzwicky
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tzwicky
George
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Saturday Evening, Dec. 5

Post by tzwicky »

Saturday Evening, Dec. 5

Having arrived just before the American Thanksgiving holiday, I've now been watching BETM night after night, day after day, which in my dictionary means “maybe too often.” Bollocks to that. Had I not been at this show I would not have witnessed Tomi's second farewell performance and it was too sweet and too special for any BillyManiac to have missed. So, good for me!

Of course having no knowledge that it was a leaving show for Tomi, I was not scribbling all over my ticket like a madman. Good for me, again!

And the Billy/Michael pairing that evening was stellar because it was the two “oldest,” most grizzled actors on the VPT stage, veteran Billy, Brodie Donougher, and veteran Michael, Tomi Fry. These two guys do amazing things on stage every time the Pathe cock crows.

It seemed that this night Tomi was totally in command during his “Expressing Yourself” moments. While one of my fave bits has been sorta dropped or edited down from the show, Tomi perhaps spent a second too long when he was smearing lipstick on Brodie. I can remember back in the general strike (no, wait a moment, that's Grandma's line). I can remember in previous years when Corey Snide or Colin Bates or any of the Billys of Olde would get covered in lipstick and you could actually see them cringe as Michael came at them with that dreaded prop.

So it makes sense that when this little bit got out of hand, I guess someone decided it had to be dialed back in. So we now live in the dialed in time of the lipstick, though I think Tomi had his way last Saturday night. Brodie took a moment or two extra to wipe it all off before he faced the audience afterward.

The Dancing Dresses were toeing the line for Tomi and he pushed and shoved them around with gusto. Always a big laugh number. I wonder if a Forum member was the recipient of Tomi's final “give me a call” movement on stage.

“Angry Dance” is the high point of BETM, in my opinion and it never ceases to bring me out of a slouch in my seat. As I was in S-19 (an aisle seat at least) it meant making sure my ginormous binoculars were free of dust and hanging just right.

Brodie does a very powerful Angry Dance every time I've watched him. This night it showcased his physical prowess in particular as he flung himself about, stamped his feet, tapped to the heavens and seemed to cover just about every square foot of the stage with his combined anger and anguish. Just recently, I think since Elliott Hanna played Billy, a very angry Billy will always bounce off the police shields but now, there's a super-slo-mo effect the second time Billy rolls off the shields. In the midst of all the lights and the sounds and the motion on stage, it's like something out of “The Matrix” when Billy does that slow spin and it just wows me to my core each time I see this bit. Brodie delivered a very angry “Angry Dance.”

So there ya have this one. A shortie because, for starters my dog ate my homework (this review) last night, and secondly, I didn't know it was a leaving show! Criminy!!

I do recall, and I'm pretty sure about this, Tomi did take a tiny liberty with the goodbye moment between him and Billy. The boys did not invert dialogue to “See ya Tomi” and “Yah, see ya Brodie” which is just not done at the VPT, but there was a hesitation and Tomi seemed to say something private to Brodie, which is just as good for me. Cheer for the Zeiss Optics!

tzwicky
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tzwicky
George
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Monday Evening, Dec. 7

Post by tzwicky »

Monday Evening, Dec. 7

Nat and Bradley turned in another bombastic performance on what for Americans is Pearl Harbor Day.

Once again, what I'm doing here is discussing things I noticed which are often new to me or changes or goofs, or normal things in the show I find unusual enough to warrant further examination. I marvel at the emotional connection many BillyManiacs have to Billy. I have a slightly less visceral connection to the show, but it's the way I see it now, in the moment, a show I can almost quote song and verse, but nonetheless often find things that come as a complete surprise to me and sometimes to others. I am glad the one discovery I made last week and posted about recently has not caused a fuss. Praise the Billy Ghods.

One thing I did notice at this show was the continuing ability of every cast member to be able to cover for every other cast member (though I doubt the Ballet Girls are cross-trained to play Billy's dad if every other actor is unable to fill in). But where gender is not an issue, or age difference too great, the interchangeability is amazing. I mentioned that David Bardsley has always been my fave Billy's Dad, and in the past few Billythons here, David always seems to greet me at my first show as either Dad (which he did this time) or as Boxing Coach George (which he did a few shows later). Well, he's now my fave George mainly for the way he plays the Christmas Party scene and more importantly the bits in front of the curtain. David plays it quite fidgety and plays with his glasses in that goofy way of bouncing them up and down from the ears. Perhaps Groucho Marx used to do this, but when I saw it this time, I felt totally invigorated and just went along for the ride while he plays a very different, and fidgety Maggie Thatcher as well. Kudos to David. He's as hammy as he needs to be in this scene and it works gloriously.

Speaking of covering, the Ballet Girls, especially in “Solidarity,” act as a last defense against objects misplaced or jettisoned in the melee on stage through this most energetic group effort. This performance, one of the Bobbie helmets became unwell and fell from the head of a part-time peace officer. Within a second, one of the Ballet Girls had retrieved it as it skittered across the stage and it was magically handed back to the cast member what lost it. The girls are just amazing that way. Dancing as though they are first day beginners while keeping an eagle eye out for rogue bits of props.

Oh, oh, oh I just remembered something that is no longer seen/heard in the show these days and it's just a shame that it got tuned out for some reason. During the moments before “Dream Ballet” begin, when it's just Billy and Michael there in the hall, after Michael plants that anxious kiss on Billy's cheek and then gets a bit nervous and says “you won't tell anyone will ya?”

Billy strings him along for just a moment and the audience isn't sure where things are headed. Billy saunters over to a stray tutu against the wall and tosses it high into the air at Michael to show him he's OK and here's something that he thought Michael would like to have. Michael goes through paroxysms of excitement at the tutu and in no time is trying it on. Good enough. Very funny stuff goes on every night and many people think this is one of the great laffs in the entire show. But it used to be even funnier, in my opinion, when Michael hesitates and gives the tutu a sniff, screwing his face up and saying, “Awwww, it smells like Tracy Atkinson” or words to that effect. Such a small moment, and the whole bit goes right along with or without it. But I miss the Susan Parkes laffline. Y'all don't know what you're missing.

Here's a weird thing I noticed years ago but lost track of it and didn't notice it again till recently. There's an on-demand water heater above the sink in the Elliot house. It blinks blue as an indicator light or possibly the actual pilot light all through the first half of the show. In the second half of the show, the light has gone out. Dunno who was running the hot water, but it's not on in the second half.

In “Born to Boogie” at this show, Nat performed with the jump rope perfectly. Gold Star! It can be done well or not, and then it can be done flawlessly. Nat positively nailed it on the 7th.

Now we come back to another example of actors filling in as understudies. And I've only seen the understudy to Adult Billy in “Dream Ballet” a long while ago. But I have never seen Lee Hoy in the role and was nearly knocked sideways when I realized it was Lee up there in the tights. With all the problems with the flying rig recently (fixed through holy intervention and my candle at St. Pauls) my heart skipped a beat at all the possible things that could happen next. I need not have bothered. The whole Billy/Older Billy ballet was beautiful and I got to see something totally new. Thanks Lee!

Back to sniffing things. How long has Billy been sniffing the letter from the RBS in the Elliot kitchen? I'd never seen this olfactory appraisal of the post by Billy. Whazzup Billy? I loved it when Billy used to tap the envelope (and some still do) after looking at it from every angle till the point Dad screams “Open it!” What do y'all suppose the sniffing is about?

The Finale tonight was one of those rare performances when lighting strikes. It was electricity, and giant arcs of power and all the little looks and glances the cast make at each other while they're zooming around the stage. I've seen Nat "run" the finale several times before, but this show ended at maximum energy all around and it's a finale like this that sends people out of the VPT into the very hazardous traffic situation surrounding the theatre and gets them through safely (and giddy with the magic that is theatre).

Great stuff to witness … again, and again, and again …

(Thanks to my editor, Pat!)

tzwicky
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Bridget40
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Re: December 2015 Reviews

Post by Bridget40 »

Another great review tzwicky...... I also love David Bardsley, whether he's playing George or Jackie. That bit he does with his glasses when he plays George is, I believe an impression of Eric Morecombe. That's who it reminds me of anyways!
Katwoman
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Re: December 2015 Reviews

Post by Katwoman »

Bridget40 wrote:Another great review tzwicky...... I also love David Bardsley, whether he's playing George or Jackie. That bit he does with his glasses when he plays George is, I believe an impression of Eric Morecombe. That's who it reminds me of anyways!
When I saw David Bardsley do his glasses twiddling some months ago, it also reminded me of the late, great Eric Morecambe. Unfortunately, our American fellow fans may not be familiar with the much loved comedian.
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patc
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Re: December 2015 Reviews

Post by patc »

Thursday 10th December - all day

Not even the sad news that broke late last night could dampen the enjoyment of another Thursday double of supreme quality and commitment and variety of content. Over all the years there always has been differences in interpretation between the four Billys (and even on the occasions when there were 5). I am inclined to the view that the variations between the current four Billy are wider than they have ever been before and we are all the luckier for it. Never more was this illustrated than yesterday.

The matinee was conducted with style and pizzaz by those doyens of Thermofusionicity known as Thomas and Nathan. Yet, it was a strange audience. Their reaction during the show was very muted from the start (a number of posh-looking schools were represented and may have been either shy or responding to dire warnings of the penalties for not behaving themselves and letting the school down). Nevertheless, when it came to expressing their appreciation at the finish they made it plain that they had thoroughly had a great time. It’s always very moving to hear the show’s youngsters being loudly cheered to the rafters by their peers.

The evening show audience was quite the opposite and were involved all the way through, reacting and cheering with such delight where proper so to do and dropping into teary eyed silence as Billy’s cause was shamed and shot down in flames. Nat (and his soulful eyes) would melt even the coldest of human hearts in his studied portrayal of a lost and lonely Billy. The tight control he has in manipulating this mood is fascinating to watch. At various times such as during Grandma’s Song, Expressing Yourself he cleverly allows smiles, sometimes just brief, to break out as he is temporarily lifted but, just as one would in real life, he relapses. Then, when he gets his big chance at the RBS, having performed what is an absolutely stunning Electricity (Liam Mower has reportedly described Nat’s dancing as “amazing”) the real smile of joy ("that’s me, Dad") eventually becomes emblazoned. Bradley’s mischievous Michael, full of his usual hilarious unpredictability in the Boxing scene was the perfect foil.

Leaving the theatre, just prior to the sad news breaking, I was just saying what an extraordinary emotional day we had just had. I wonder, now that the closure date has been announced, will we ever discover exactly who decides what interpretation is best suited to each Billy. It is so well thought out. Whoever he/she/they are, the word "genius" springs to mind.

Massive thanks to Thomas and Nat and their respective casts for making my (Thurs)day this week.

Indeed, thanks and kudos go to the whole cast and crew who, as always, threw their hearts and souls into it despite the news that probably came as much as a shock to them as us. All we can do now is support them all the way in the time that is left.

Pat
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jtsw1
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Re: December 2015 Reviews

Post by jtsw1 »

Thank you Pat, very well said! Seeing Thomas and Nat after one another perfectly shows what a brilliant show this is. And let's not forget, there's at least another 18 months of British Billy for us to experience and follow.
- A. -

- What do I do??
- Follow the others... marching forward to socialism!
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