April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post Reply
User avatar
Finale
Former Admin
Posts: 1112
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:00 pm
Location: North London

April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by Finale »

A new thread for April reviews.
tyty
Audience Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:55 pm
Location: New York

Re: Joseph Harrington

Post by tyty »

***Warning: Extremely long and overly dramatic review ahead...written by a theatre major, no less! Complete with interpretation! But really, I decided to post this because a) I think Joseph deserves the praise, and b) parts of this review/interpretation were used for a theatre class assignment, so the work was already done. So yeah, interpretations are just mine, and I realize I go wayyy beyond what we could possibly know, but that's the point of this kind of writing. You've been warned... ;) ***

I'm really surprised more hasn't been said about Joseph. I saw him for the first time in December or January, and I absolutely loved him. I just saw him for the second time a week or so ago, and it was by far the absolute best performance of the show I've ever seen! As a reference, I've seen the show about 8 times, and going by some of the tallies I've seen on this site, I know I'm a total newbie (What's your secret!? Do you have trees that grow tickets?), but despite my newbie status (damn college student budget...), I think that's still an impressive accolade for Joseph.

For more perspective, to know where I'm coming from, I've seen Peter and Jacob perform, but never Alex, so when I talk about contrast, I'm excluding Alex. Also, we were sitting wayyy up front for this show, very close to the stage, so keep that in mind when reading. Oh, and one of my majors is theatre, so here's fair warning that I may get long-winded about certain topics. And, to make matters worse, I include a fair bit of my reaction and interpretation. It's just how I felt after the performance, the story it told me, and what I thought was going on in the characters' heads. All speculation based on what I saw. So on to the show...

What I first noticed was how differently Joseph portrayed Billy than either Jacob or Peter. Jacob's and Peter's Billys come across as more defiant, spunky, and angry (which I do like), but Joseph's Billy seemed more sweet, sensitive, and hopeful, which was an interesting difference. Joseph's acting was flawless, his character was incredibly believable, and he conveyed the most emotion of any Billy I've ever seen.

The key to all of this was Joseph’s talent with emotional delivery, which I’ll keep bringing up. I was simply amazed—in shock, even—at how well this kid works with emotion. I just couldn’t believe it. I'm in a top theatre program, have taken tons of acting classes, and have seen countless actors and performances, but rarely have I seen emotion portrayed as well as Joseph did. I'm not at all exaggerating; the kid has an incredible gift.

His acting skills--especially in the particularly emotional scenes--just elevated the show to a new dimension. His version of Billy as a more "sweet" and emotional Billy made the performance very unique, and for many scenes, it was like seeing them from a whole other perspective. A few examples of what I mean by "sweet" Billy (Joseph) compared to "defiant" Billy (Jacob and Peter):

In the first classes with Mrs. Wilkinson, when Billy doesn't know what to do ("Miss, I don't know what to do!"), Joseph's frustration came across more as confusion and asking for help, while Jacob's and Peter's frustration came across as anger and hostility with Mrs. Wilkinson.

Another example is Billy's reaction after Michael kisses him and then asks Billy not to tell anyone. Joseph's reaction seemed sympathetic, caring, and was actually reassuring--he gave a little smile and shook his head "no" (much more like the movie). Jacob's reaction, on the other hand, was much more angry and left the future of their friendship in doubt. Peter, once again, was kind of in between.

When Joseph's Billy told Michael that just because he's a ballet dancer doesn't mean he's a poof, it seemed like Billy was just explaining this to Michael, like he understood why Michael would think that, but was correcting his assumption. When Jacob's Billy said this to Michael, it was much more intense, very angry, and came with an almost aggressive "What the hell is wrong with you!?" expression. Peter's Billy came across as somewhat hostile, but nowhere near as intense as Jacob.

Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed all of these styles, and each is a good way to tell the story, but I thought Joseph's Billy showed the deepest emotions, and because of this, he seemed to have most complex, nuanced relationships--especially with Michael and Mum. Much like Peter, Joseph is a great nonverbal communicator. The difference, again, is in conveying deep emotion. Peter's very good at a wide range of expressions, while Joseph is a master of expressing emotion nonverbally. His ability to tell the audience so much through his eyes, facial expressions, and body language is among the best I've seen--and I work with professionals actors almost daily! As I said, this really transformed his scenes with Michael and Mum and made them incredibly complex and moving.

Joseph did an absolutely amazing job of conveying how close and how important Billy's friendship with Michael is, and that's where his acting shined brightest. The two characters have a very complex relationship, and he more that did it justice. Another highlight was during The Letter when he did an incredible job of showing how bittersweet that scene is. There were moments of subdued happiness when he's recalling fond memories with Mum and what might have been, but that's all perfectly tempered by his awareness that these thoughts were triggered because he's reading a letter she wrote as she was dying. The balance he achieved here was beautiful.

All of this also carried over to his dancing, which conveyed so much emotion and was a joy to watch. Every dance has a message in this show, and just as with his acting, he nailed it. As far as technical dancing ability, I think he has the most grace of any Billy I've seen on stage. I've seen other Billys with more power, speed, or height, but none have come close to Joseph's grace, elegance, or balance. That kind of self-awareness of where your body is in space can't be taught, it's an incredible gift. Everything he did was smooth and seamless--sometimes it seemed he was dancing without gravity!

Finally, Joseph did a very good job singing, and, not surprising, sang with incredible emotion. This is actually an area in which he has improved immensely since I saw him several months ago. His technical singing performance was more or less on-par with the average Broadway Billy, but Joseph just delivered so much more emotion, the best I've seen so far. This had the biggest impact in his Dear Billy Reply, which was absolutely heart-wrenching.

The final scene of the show had *the* two most moving and powerful moments I've ever witnessed on stage.

The first was when Billy sang his reply to Mum. His voice, facial expression, and body language all showed such a powerful, complex, and fitting combination of sadness, pride, strength, love, determination, sacrifice, regret, and ending a chapter of life. I realize that may seem exaggerated or even impossible, but Joseph pulled it off. Absolutely one of the most brilliant pieces of acting I've ever seen, and certainly one of the two most emotional works of acting I've ever had the privilege to witness (the other is below, from this same show!).

The second was when Billy returns to the stage to see Michael and kiss him goodbye before leaving. I think this single moment (and the way Billy leaves afterwards) may be the one that varies the most depending on actor playing Billy and how he interprets it. For example, when Jacob was Billy, he gave Michael a carefree split-second peck on the cheek, reassuring him that their friendship had recovered, and then left with a mixture of sadness, determination, and knowing he was doing the right thing. Joseph's performance of this scene further underscored his enviable ability to blend and show powerful emotions, communicate nonverbally, and convey the complexity of relationships. When Joseph's Billy kissed Michael's cheek, it lasted much longer than Jacob's and expressed completely different feelings.

Joseph's kiss, however, and the looks he gave Michael before turning his back to leave were heartbreaking and had none of the positive aspects of hopefulness and determination that Jacob's had. As opposed to Jacob's "we're okay" kiss, Joseph's kiss said "I'm sorry" and "farewell." In this final scene with Michael, the emotion Joseph showed was far more than sadness, it was inconsolability. Equally apparent and powerful were Joseph’s expressions of apology, guilt, regret, disappointment in himself, and hesitance to leave. As he turned and left down the aisle, he broke down and was crying--sobbing, actually, and the tears were real and covered his face--and looked heartbroken, devastated, ashamed, and furious with himself. Instead of looking sad to leave but hopeful for the future, like Jacob and Peter do, Joseph’s Billy looked as if he had just killed his best friend, or at least knowingly left him for dead.

As I watched this brilliant, beautiful, and tragic scene, I was left with the feeling that Joseph’s Billy had just realized he made the biggest mistake of his life. (Again, this is just my interpretation, but the emotions seemed very clear, and several friends reached the same basic conclusion.) He had just turned his back on his best friend in the world, leaving Michael all alone in a town that is only known for quashing creativity, smashing hopes, and crushing souls. It seemed that Billy had just realized how much Michael had done for him, how important their friendship was, and how much they needed each other. He realized no matter how well he does at ballet school and how successful of a dancer he becomes, it all came at the expense of his best friend, and all his future accomplishments would be accompanied by that thought. Michael selflessly supported Billy’s dream, encouraged Billy to be himself, and was the only one of his friend and family to take a true interest in his ballet passion. In turn, Billy was Michael’s only true confidante and was the only person who accepted him for his true self. I think it's safe to say that without Michael, Billy never have achieved his dream, and Billy realizes this.

Billy also realized that he didn’t want to go to London. But he also realized it was too late to change his mind—his family and the town had sacrificed so much to get him on that bus and he had become a symbol of hope and pride for them. To make things worse, Billy had just said goodbye to his mother, finally burying that one piece of his past that had supported and encouraged him. Now all he had left was Michael, and all Michael had was Billy. And now, as he leaves town, Billy fully realizes that he's not only destroying his best friend by leaving him behind, but he’s also destroying a part of himself.

So there you have it, what was, for me, the best performance of BETM I've ever seen. With some of the most powerful scenes I've *ever* seen in any show. After the show, I got to talk to Joseph for a bit, and he said he's gotten much more into acting over the past few months and is taking it much more seriously. He originally thought of himself as just a dancer, but says that now he can't imagine himself doing something that doesn't involve acting (and dancing!).

-Ty(ler)
mrmikerocks
Miner
Posts: 420
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2010 3:12 am

Re: April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by mrmikerocks »

Thanks for that very in-depth review of Joseph's performance. Obviously you are a theater major. The in-depth observations are a nice thing to read and I'm glad you enjoyed Joseph's performance so much. Thanks again.
User avatar
ERinVA
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 17964
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:33 am
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Re: April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by ERinVA »

Yes, thanks for an excellent review, Ty. :D I know you said "a week or so ago," but do you remember the actual date you saw Joseph's show?
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.
User avatar
porschesrule
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 9369
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2009 2:02 am
Location: Rhode Island, USA

Re: April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by porschesrule »

Tyler,

First, thank you for this wonderful review of the show. It's obviously well thought out and must have taken you quite a while to compose.

I agree with you that we have seen far less about Joseph here on the Forum than he deserves. So much of what has been written about him concentrates on his formidable dancing skills and not a lot on the other two aspects of this triple threat young man -- his singing and acting. I'm glad you have written a considerable amount on both those aspects of his performance.

I loved how you contrasted Joseph's performance with those of the other two Billys you've seen -- Peter and Jacob. I really hope you get the opportunity to see Alex before he leaves the show. I, for one, would love to read your impressions of his interpretation of the role compared to Joseph's. I think, at least dance-wise, you'll see a lot of similarities between him and Joseph with respect to his graceful interpretations of the various dance numbers. I'd be very, very interested in hearing what you think about Alex's acting compared to Joseph's as well.

I'd like to add my welcome to you to the Forum and hope that you'll continue to post as you get time.

Thanks again for a great review.
cincinnati
Tall Boy
Posts: 190
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:42 pm

Re: April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by cincinnati »

April 1st
Billy - Alex
Michael - Neil

I had as my guest for this show an ex-cast member who had never seen the show from the seats. We were sitting in row A center orch. and what a show it was.
Alex Ko has come full circle as a professional performer, what a competent, smooth and in control job he does on stage. The real pro that Alex is was showing with leg taped and his knee braces as medals to this young man's grit and never quit attitude that fits the Billy he portrays quite well.
Solidarity was full of energy as Alex and the brilliant Emily Skinner put on a show stopper for sure.
Neil is so different than the other cast members who have played Michael, different in a good way though, the facial expressions that go along with the little bit of quirky behavior with his voice and it works just fine.
Alex pulled out all the stops during Angry Dance, which left the crowd basically speechless not knowing what to do at the end of the dance.
The intermission brought to our attention (my guest and I) a family from Salt Lake City sitting in row B right behind us. The mother and father with their teenage daughter and a young son who was a disabled. The daughter recognized my guest and a conversation started. We encouraged the family to stay by the doors inside after the show and Alex would say hello to the family.
The second half started with big smiles on Alex, Neil and Ben's faces.....this number has really come about as almost freestyle type behavior from the cast.....Ben Cook really puts on a show by himself in this number....watch Ben next time you will see what I mean...
Alex Ko just nailed the Dream Ballet ....that sums that up.....it doesn't get any better....
With Electricity, Alex had the crowd in what could be called a gasp for air at the end......and a standing ovation he recieved.....
I wrote this ending on Alex's thread but I will write it here for those he didn't read it earlier .... in regards to the family I spoke of during intermission...
When the show was over Alex came out and standing by the 46th street doors inside was the family with child in the wheelchair....Alex was told about them and directly he went over to the family and spent quite a bit of time talking to the boy in the wheelchair and the family......photos etc. etc... Alex's message to the child to never quit goes along with the example he has set for all of us with what he has overcome is nothing less than magical. In all my years I have never seen anything tug on my heart more than this scene that night. The time that Alex spent with this family will be something that will always be magical to them and made this child smile with a night he will NEVER forget.
User avatar
porschesrule
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 9369
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2009 2:02 am
Location: Rhode Island, USA

Re: April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by porschesrule »

Thank you, cincinnati, for the account of the magical night you spent watching Alex and cast -- made all the more so by the presence of your guest.

By all accounts, Alex is indeed at the peak of his powers portraying Billy.

But the thing I liked most about your summation of the evening's proceedings was what happened at the end. Alex has a heart of gold and, as you've said, the time he spent with that young disabled boy and his family will be something they remember forever. Well done, Alex!
cincinnati
Tall Boy
Posts: 190
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:42 pm

Re: April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by cincinnati »

Sunday April 10th
Billy – Peter
Michael – Ben
This show marked the fifth time for me to see Peter and the first time to see the brilliant Ben Cook as Michael. The fact that the Billy’s all get better with each performances is pretty much a given. What isn’t a constant though is the quickness that they progress with their work towards perfection that most achieve by the end of their respective runs. With that I can’t begin to tell you what great strides Peter has made, he really has arrived as Billy. The acting skills he displayed were second to none. I have always thought that Ben is someone that has a huge future on stage, movies and TV. Ben’s take on Michael was something that in my opinion closely rivals another person who by most people on this forum consider to be the yardstick to judge other Michael’s…….Rules of the this forum won’t permit to name him, but I think one can imagine. Ben Cook was so darn good as Michael that it seems impossible. The accent that Ben uses is so real that you can close your eyes and just imagine that you are in the United Kingdom. Ben’s Express Yourself was so good that I almost just have to laugh as I think of it writing this…..like how can he do what he did? The end where he struts to the corner and spins he had the crowd worked into a tizzy for sure. It was like a football team scored a touchdown. When Ben did the tutu bit and danced in front of Peter with “Just a little bit” and did the split…he really did a SPLIT. The crowd went crazy…..Peter has been working very hard on his skills and boy did it show, his acting, dancing and singing are a sign that the health of this show along with Joseph will be in solid hands through 2011. The crowds the last three shows I have seen sure are getting into the show more now than ever with clapping and cheering. Talking to Peter at the end of the night I told him just how solid his work was and he was so genuinely happy to hear those comments and that it means a lot to him to hear that. The work this night with Ben and Peter that both have stepped up to the plate and hit homers for sure leave the future bright for this wonderful magical story that never ends without putting smiles on everyone. Congratulations to Peter and Ben for a wonderful night’s work.
User avatar
ERinVA
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 17964
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:33 am
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Re: April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by ERinVA »

Thanks for your review, cincinnati. It sounds like the Peter/Ben pairing is an excellent one. Just so everyone knows, though, there is no forum rule about mentioning the names of Billys or Michaels, or even comparing their versions of the roles they play. We just ask that members not rank the children against each other on a scale of good/better/best: e.g. "Murgatroyd is the best (funniest, etc.) of all the Michaels," or "Percival is a better Billy (or dancer, or singer, or actor) than Osgood," etc.
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.
cincinnati
Tall Boy
Posts: 190
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:42 pm

Re: April 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by cincinnati »

Agree with the rules that were quoted that's why I didn't name that Michael as I don't want to compare Ben with any of the others or rank him.....I support the rules that were quoted as the cast members of this show do frequent this forum quite often.
Post Reply

Return to “Reviews - Broadway”