Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence KS - Feb 24-Mar 5, 2017

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kport
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Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence KS - Feb 24-Mar 5, 2017

Post by kport »

MTI has issued a license for Billy Elliot The Musical at Lawrence Arts Center
940 New Hampshire
Lawrence, KS 66044
United States
Lawrence Arts Center
http://www.lawrenceartscenter.org
02/24/2017 to 03/05/2017
kport
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Re: BETM at Lawrence Arts Center KS 2/24-3/05/2017

Post by kport »

It is always nice to find conformation that license will turn into a production. This is scanty, but useful:

http://6lawrence.com/news/local-news/21 ... rts-center

This is better:

https://lawrenceartscenter.org/2017/01/ ... ditions-2/
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Re: BETM at Lawrence Arts Center KS 2/24-3/05/2017

Post by CJ-Rochester »

The cast has been announced. It looks like quite a large cast, including several ensemble boys and 25 miners!

https://lawrenceartscenter.org/wp-conte ... t-cast.pdf
Billy - Peter Dessert
Michael - Antonio Magana de la Paz
Billy understudy - Clark Furlong
Michael understudy - Sean Ruddy
Debbie - Mary Kaye Shultz

Dad - Chad Crenshaw
Tony - Jasper Mumford
George - Larry Nigh
Mrs. Wilkinson - Erica Fox
Grandma - Beth Dearinger
Dead Mum - Alison Dessert
Judging by the names, this could be the first case in which Billy's mum is actually his mum.
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Re: BETM at Lawrence Arts Center KS 2/24-3/05/2017

Post by kport »

Inside Billy Elliot: What the Kids Have to Say

https://lawrenceartscenter.org/2017/02/ ... ve-to-say/
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Re: BETM at Lawrence Arts Center KS 2/24-3/05/2017

Post by Todd »

Opening Night - Friday, Feb. 24, 2017

There's been surprisingly little media coverage of this production in Lawrence or in Kansas City. Not sure if that's the case with all Lawrence Arts Center shows or not, as I must admit I'd never heard of this theater despite it being only 40 minutes from where I live.

I've been quite choosy when attending regional productions, as I admit that I got spoiled seeing the show performed at such a high level in all the professional productions. But with BETM being so close to where I live, I decided to go see it despite having no clue as to how professional it would be. While the productions in Ogunquit, Maine, Issaqua, WA, and Lancaster, PA clearly had some financial backing and were basically at the same caliber as the professional tour shows, the one in Lawrence is more truly "community theater," as the show was scaled down in terms of dancing, staging and special effects.

The young actors playing Billy and Michael were both quite good actors and singers, and did an impressive job of memorizing and delivering their dialogue. The actress who played Grandma was also very good. You could tell that great effort had been put into teaching the cast to speak with an authentic Geordie accent. This actually turned out to be a detriment, in my opinion, as the strong dialect - combined with a shaky sound system - made it difficult to understand much of the dialogue. I would have been fairly clueless as to what was going on if I didn't know much of the dialogue from repeated viewings over the years.

I was willing to forgive some of the shortcomings, which were due I'm sure to limited finances and limited rehearsal time. I did, however, feel that the production committed one unforgivable sin, and that was casting a Billy who appeared to have very limited dancing ability. You would think that a show that relies so heavily on dance would make this sort of thing a priority. But this particular young actor looked basically the same in both the beginning of "Solidarity" - when he attempts his first pirouette - and at the end of the number when we're supposed to see what great strides Billy has made as a dancer. "Angry Dance" could have easily been retitled "Mildly Annoyed Dance," as Billy basically just jumped around and threw a few punches into the air, before rolling around on the stage and letting out a few yells before the scene came to an end. The audience sat there in silence, as if they were thinking, "Is that it? What just happened here? Why was the kid jumping around?"

We all know how difficult this show is to perform, and how amazing it can be when the talent on stage creates one of the greatest "Wow !" effects of any show in theater history. But without the skills and time needed to do the show justice, it definitely loses that "Wow" factor and undoubtedly left many audience members wondering why it won so many Tony awards. I hate to be so critical, as I'm sure a great deal of effort was put into making the production as good as it is. But in the future, I think I'll hold out for the caliber of regional productions that are closer to the level of what made me fall in love with the show in the first place.
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Re: BETM at Lawrence Arts Center KS 2/24-3/05/2017

Post by accessmenj »

Please be aware that any faults in a production are ALWAYS the fault of the adults who did not allow the time and effort necessary to present this difficult production. It should be noted that future productions should not attempt Billy Elliot The Musical unless the regional or school theater makes this commitment.
No mention of the children is appropriate at all. If the production was lacking, the children are off limits.
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Re: BETM at Lawrence Arts Center KS 2/24-3/05/2017

Post by Todd »

I agree with your first two sentences, as it is indeed the fault of the adults who felt they could stage this production without the necessary dance skills needed to tell the story at the level that it deserves. I remember reading where Stephen Daldry and Lee Hall said they weren't sure if they would be able to stage the original production in London because they were afraid they couldn't find kids who could dance at the high level necessary, act, sing, and have the stage presence and stamina to carry the show on their backs. I remember they said something to the effect of, "We were afraid we had created a show that would be impossible to perform."

The young actors in this particular production gave it their best shot, as any shortcomings of the show were not due to lack of effort on their part. But in order to explain where the adults doing the producing and casting had fallen short, I had to explain where the show was lacking - and that was the dance skills of the actor they cast to play Billy (along with the clarity of much of the dialogue, the sound system, etc.).
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