July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

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Rich B
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July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

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A place for July reviews.
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CJ-Rochester
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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

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Thanks for the review shimmyshimmy. Sunday was quite an emotional day for two BETM casts.
:/
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ERinVA
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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by ERinVA »

I had a great 4-day Billython in Toronto and saw all four Billys. It was also nice to see Armand Schultz, Patrick Mulvey, and Cynthia Darlow again before their final performance in Toronto. I don't tend to write reviews, but when I get a bit of time, I will try to put my thoughts into a review of the shows I saw.
Ellen



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-George Balanchine 1904 -1983


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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by gpcolo »

ERinVA wrote: I will try to put my thoughts into a review of the shows I saw.
Looking forward to your reviews. I will try and be patient...
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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by mrovet »

Great show tonight! Having not seen Marcus before, I wasn't sure what to expect but blew me away. He was fantastic!

The new people were great too:

Jake Epstein is a very emotional Tony...he was practically in tears when he storms out saying, "what's the point of keeping your family together?" He's a great singer and dancer as well. A fantastic first show.

David Keeley was good. I felt that he was more subdued dad with bursts of anger. This worked at times and then others, his acting choices didn't seem to make sense.

Cindy Benson - a spunky Grandma. I was almost scared for the life of the envelope when she lunged at the letter.

Everyone else was great as usual overall it was a
fantastic show.
Toronto

Billy: Myles x3, Cesar x1, JP x1, Julian x1, Marcus x1
Michael: Dillon x4, Jack x3
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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by muck912 »

I've been a Billetomane for 3 years, reading this forum religiously, but never posting. What provoked me to do this review was a 2-show Billython that I was able to do in conjunction with a business trip. Musical theater just does not get any better than these two shows! Before these shows if someone had asked me what was the most memorable performances I had ever seen I would have answered Colm Wilkinson in Les Miz or Kevin Grey as the engineer in Miss Saigon or maybe if I answered with my heart instead of my head I would have said Vanessa Williams on Broadway in Kiss of the Spiderwoman. But not anymore. The next time someone asks me my most memorable performances the answer is: I saw Marcus Pei & Myles Erlick play Billy Elliot in Toronto on back-to-back days.

Tues. July 5

Marcus/Jack

I hit the lottery again! That makes 5 out of the last 6 shows I get in for $25. I was quite lucky as there were about 45 people vying for the 20 tickets.

On the trip from upstate New York into Toronto I figured I might see Marcus because there were new cast members debuting as Jackie & Tony. It makes sense to pair up a veteran (all of 13 years old) Billy with rookie adults. And Marcus it was. It's as if he has become my personal Billy as I have now seen him in an odds-defying 4 of my last 6 Toronto shows.

Marcus was on top of his game all night. His singing and acting are fantastic. In B2B his jump-roping was perfect and lightning fast. You always get a piano flip from Marcus & he absolutely stuck the landing. I like my Angry Dance with plenty of F-bombs & screams. You can't get that in Toronto, they don't even let any Billy flip the bird. But Marcus put everything he had and then some into his Angry Dance. Even in Toronto it is still my favorite part of the show. Both his Dream Ballet and Electricity were inspirational and flawless. His Electricity shows off his ballet training and his aerial is another highlight. Throughout the night he both lifts you up and makes you cry. He is the complete package. A truly memorable performance!!!

In June my daughter accompanied me on a mini vacation to see BE in Toronto. We saw another great Marcus performance and after the show we went to the stage door because my daughter wanted him to autograph her BE tee shirt. When he was done taking photos with fans we approached him and with a big smile he autographed the tee shirt. Then he turns to me (a person he has never met) and the first words out of his mouth are an apology for a slight slip and fall in his high heeled tap shoes during Expressing - "that is the first time I've fallen on stage in a long time." Of course he did about 500 things perfectly that night but he felt the need to apologize for the one screw-up. He's a perfectionist and it shows. Iowa City, Iowa must be proud. It has produced 2 great Billys (Alex Ko is the other). It must have the record for most Billys per capita.

Jack is a spectacular Michael. It is hard to believe he is only 11 years old. He has already made the role his own with his unique take on things.

Jake Epstein (Tony) and David Keeley (Jackie) were the night's rookies. They were well prepared and I very much liked both actors. The show did not skip a beat.

Toronto's Ballet Girls have really grown on me. I think it is natural that the first couple of times you see a production you concentrate on Billy, Michael, and the adult leads. But with each new viewing of the show I marvel at what a job the BGs do. I now keep at least one eye on them at all times. They never disappoint.

It is unusual to see a standby Billy watching the show but seated in the 3rd row was Julian Elia, Toronto's newest (he's only done a handful of shows) Billy. At intermission he came over to our GHJ boxes to greet Billy, Michael, Tall & Small Boys as they make their way to the lobby. He said he was watching the show today to see the new adult cast members in action. Julian gave Marcus a standing ovation after AD and Electricity. If anyone can discern a great Billy performance it would be another Billy. I hope to see Julian for the first time on my next trip to Toronto. By the way, Julian is the 4th Billy from Toronto (Liam Redhead, Myles Erlich, & Ty Forhan are the others). Has any city produced more?

Sharing my lottery box with me was a newbie lady. She hadn't seen the movie and knew very little about BETM. She asked me what to expect. I gave her the quick synopsis & told her she was in for a treat because the Billy she was going to see was phenomenal. She loved the show & loved Marcus. Her post-show critique: "Boy, did I get my $25 worth. It's hard to believe a 13-year old kid can be that talented. What a great singer and dancer and good looking, too. What nationality is he?"

My review of the Wed. July 6 Myles/Dillon matinee is upcoming.
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ERinVA
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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by ERinVA »

I like my Angry Dance with plenty of F-bombs & screams. You can't get that in Toronto, they don't even let any Billy flip the bird.
Actually, during my recent trip to Toronto (I was lucky enough to see all four Billys), I did hear an F-bomb during Angry Dance, and it came from Julian. The others were generally pretty quiet during their AD's, but Julian did quite a bit of screaming, and yes, he did use it.

By the way, welcome to the forum muck912. Glad you finally decided to join us and post. Looking forward to your second review. :D
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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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by porschesrule »

Thanks for the great first review, muck912. Glad you are joining us as an active poster, though you've been with us in spirit for a while now. You write well, so hope these first two posts (I, too, am looking forward to your Myles/Dillon review) will be just the first of many to come.
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ERinVA
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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by ERinVA »

I saw Marcus as well on my trip, and I would say that I was very impressed with his performance. He has a really good singing voice, his acting was right on the mark, and of course his dancing is excellent. I thought he was wonderful. If I had to characterize his Billy in one word, it would probably be "pensive." I agree that Jack is a terrific Michael. He has wonderful comic timing, and his "nutcracker" bit is terrific. :D He has a tremendous amount of stage presence for such a young age.

As for Julian's AD, shimmyshimmy, I will not allow you to steal the credit for his F-bomb. It clearly emanated from the stage and not from the seat in front of me. 8-) :D And as for no "flipping the bird," muck, I believe the "two finger salute" tends to be preferred in Angry Dance in most cases that I have seen. I understand that in the Northeast of England, it means roughly the same thing (i.e. "F-off"). If you are familiar with the film, you might remember Tony giving it to Billy as Billy is riding away on the bus, and I have seen Tonys in the show give it to Billy as they say, "See ya, sunshine." It's interesting in that context because it conveys multiple meanings about the brothers' relationship at the in one single moment.
Ellen



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


To follow the forum's Twitter at http://twitter.com/BEForum, click on the direct link in Applies to All Forums above.
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inspired
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Re: July 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by inspired »

Ah, thanks for clearing up the two-finger salute. The cast used it quite a bit in the three shows I saw over the weekend, and I just assumed that it meant the same as our one-finger salute. Tony did use it with Billy in Once We Were Kings for at least one of those three performances. I will post my impressions of the shows within the next few days.
28 shows, 17 Billys, 11 cities
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