March 2010 Reviews - NYC

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ERinVA
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March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by ERinVA »

Here's a new thread for March 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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Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by Musical Fanatic »

Just a couple of quick thoughts from recent shows. Two line changes have happened recently.
1)RBS scene Billy's reply to dad on first viewing the curtain and hall has changed from (its massive to they said to wait on stage).Aussie boys plus Liam not sure about Trent

2)Debbie's lines to Billy when he's changing in the toilet stall. From (I'll show you my extensions to my dad was shagging this tart at work before he was made redundant) London scene!! This comes after the she's sexually frustrated line.
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Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by Musical Fanatic »

March 5 Friday 8pm

Billy-Trent(next to last show :( )
Michael-Jake
SB-Seth
Tony-David Larson

One last regular show with Trent with one special to come. When you see a show with Trent you become spoiled. Night after night when he's on stage you know that you are going to get a great performance. This was a last minute walk up night. If you're willing to take a chance you can get a great seat(e110) about 1:15 min. before show. I saw on the seating chart(love it) that a few of the forum would be there.

Stars Look Down
Seth is so tiny when he gets up on stage. He needs two more of himself to get the lollipop back from Trent :lol: . Trent's singing has come into its own. His voice is clear and good when singing his parts. I could definitely see him doing more musicals(West Side Story). In the boxing scene I think the gloves on Seth are bigger than he is. Seth's timing was perfect with his lines and got the laughs that that they deserve.

Shine/ Solidarity
No Tessa as spastic starfish tonight. One of the backup BG"s instead. She was very good. The best parts of these extended scenes. Billy learning to(Attitude Promenade) with all the BG's, Mr B and Mrs W staring at him in amazement. Second part would have to be the miners doing ballet with the BG's and the Ensemble( BG's, police and miners) with the intricate piece with the chairs.

Born to Boogie
Trent's tapping with the jump rope(wow) and Thommie's scene stealing performance are the best parts for me tonight. One other person who does not get enough credit is Izzy as Debbie. Her comedic timing with her lines in the show are the best in a Debbie that I have seen. They leave the audience in laughter.

Angry Dance
Trent (Mr Tap :!: :!: :!: )
Applause lasted till he left stage. Hallelujah

Dream Ballet
Trent's growth has made this a very good piece. His ballet next to Easton looks very natural and graceful with the height plus weight he's put on.

He Could Shine
Man poor scab Tony(David) Really shoves him and I think he must be in competition with Will Chase to make the Billy's crawl around the stage after the money. I enjoyed his take on Tony tonight.

Electricity
Trent hits another perfect 10 for his ballet and acrobatics. :!:

Company Celebration
Standing ovation in front of billy sign. Enough said.

Met Billy Whiz and Steven King after show by stage door. Great night. Only thing better would have been seeing Trent chase Billy Whiz :lol: :D because of the countdown photos maybe next time.
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Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

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An interesting review of BETMNY
“I can’t really explain it…I haven’t got the words.” This is Billy Elliot’s initial response to being asked what it feels like when he’s dancing. I feel similarly about Billy Elliot: The Musical, the international smash hit. How to capture in words what a monumentally successful, goosebump-inducing, emotionally satisfying theatrical experience this show is, without sounding trite or hyperbolic? Not only did Billy Elliot win ten Tony Awards (it was nominated for fifteen, tying with Mel Brooks’ The Producers as the most-nominated show in history), not to mention its awards in the UK and Australia, but Time Magazine named it the best musical of the decade and the second best theatrical production, right under August: Osage County, on a list that only included two other musicals, Movin’ Out–which is really more of a ballet–and Wicked. What is more astounding upon seeing it is that Billy Elliot isn’t just a product of hype. It deserves every accolade it has received.

Big-budget musicals can be extremely difficult beasts to get right, particularly ones based on films. Far too often, they can be soulless reproductions of their source material, with millions of dollars pumped into making as flashy a presentation as possible, millions of dollars that fail to obscure the show’s inability to capture all but a modicum, if that, of the original’s heart. On the opposite end of the musical spectrum, Billy Elliot doesn’t simply cash in on brand-name recognition. The show never feels like a collection of scenes and lines one could only fully appreciate if one had seen the film (I can vouch for this, having never seen it myself). Instead, it is a full-hearted, brilliantly composed production that succeeds on every single level–as dazzling spectacle, as profoundly moving drama, as a perfect showcase for some of the best acting and dancing to ever appear on any Broadway stage. In many ways, Billy Elliot is the perfect Broadway musical. It is huge in every sense of the word–huge set pieces, huge dance numbers, huge emotions–but it never strikes a false chord.

Billy Elliot is the deeply human and deeply affecting story of a young, working class boy, the son of a coal miner during the mining strikes in 1980s Britain. Unlike his father, older brother and almost everyone else in his community, however, he has higher aspirations than a life of mining. While his father and brother are fully preoccupied by their struggle against Maggie Thatcher’s fascistic police forces, Billy surreptitiously sneaks off to dance class each day; his dream, to become a ballet dancer–a dream he can never reveal to his patriarchal, explosive father, for whom masculinity is of the utmost importance. The musical unfolds as an exploration of Billy’s relationships with the various people in his life–his forbidding father and brother, his best friend, Michael, a boy who has a fondness for trying on his (Michael’s) sister’s clothing, his senile grandmother, his deceased mother, who appears to him numerous times throughout the play, and perhaps most importantly, Mrs. Wilkinson, his dance instructor with balls of brass and a heart of gold, who agrees to teach him in secret. Each of these relationships are handled with delicacy and grace by the actors, by Elton John’s music (easily his best theatrical score), and by Lee Hall’s expert book and lyrics.

One of Billy Elliot’s most striking aspects is the grittiness of its world. One would be hard-pressed to find another feel-good musical that is this grim. Unlike other famous shows that center on down-on-their-luck kids, such as Oliver! and Annie, Billy Elliot is never saccharine. The town is grimy and dingy, and the characters’ lives harsh. (Though the same can be said of both previous shows, the saccharinity of the music and lyrics, preciousness of the children, and simplicity of the happy endings, particularly in Annie, counteract that. Oliver! has had darker interpretations, but still not on this level.) In fact, the kids cuss and curse just as much as the adults. You wouldn’t hear this sort of language coming out of Oliver or Annie’s mouth. Additionally, the adults don’t coddle the children. Even Mrs. Wilkinson is hard, tough, and unyielding to the girls in her class, as well as Billy; she will only dole out a compliment when it is truly deserved. Billy Elliot’s ultimate message is hopeful, and in a different presentation, could have come across as almost pat. In short, it is “Be yourself, no matter how different you may be.” In Billy and Michael’s words, “Everyone is different/It’s the natural state/It’s the facts, it’s plain to see,/The world’s grey enough without making it worse/What we need is individuality.” This, however, is tempered by the sadness of the peoples’ lives surrounding Billy. The finale is simultaneously, overwhelmingly triumphant and overwhelmingly sad.

Billy Elliot is also a much more difficult show for the child star than the aforementioned eponymous shows, both of which have a large number of colorful adult characters like Fagin and Miss Hannigan who take center stage for the majority of the running time. Conversely, Billy Elliot rarely leaves the stage from start to finish. The show truly rests on his shoulders, in a role that in some ways is more difficult than most adult roles on Broadway. He must convey a complex character arc, a wide range of emotions, and also perform jawdropping, exhausting choreography. His dancing must also “improve” over the course of the musical from completely unskilled to confident and polished. Billy Elliot, the character, is never traditionally “cute.” He has a great deal of anger, the result of all of the constant tension and violence in his community, as well as from his father and brother’s attempts to squash his dreams. In the stunning and unique first act finale, “Angry Dance,” Billy explodes in rage he has kept suppressed up to that point (perhaps for years), screaming at the top of his lungs, smashing into things, and dancing his heart out, fighting a wall of police officers in riot gear, behind a glass barricade. One might think that such a prominent role could not work with five child actors playing the role in rotation, and yet the production feels seamless. The Billy I saw, Dayton Tavares, was so phenomenal, I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it, which is a testament to the excellence of the acting and sophistication of how the production handles its child actors.

This show is the rare case where a huge budget has been used all in the service of telling a story, rather than the other way around. What Billy Elliot’s creative team understands is that no stage magic they could produce with special effects would be as powerful as simply watching the young boy at the center of the play dance. That is not to say that they don’t also indulge in special effects at times, but they restrain themselves for the majority of the piece, which only makes these moments even more impressive, when they do occur. And when they do, they are always used to underline or emphasize the actors and dancers’ performances, not to overwhelm them or to divert the audience’s attention. The show’s most awe-inspiring moments all revolve around dance. In the most impressive group number, “Solidarity,” a ballet class is paralleled with the strike going on outside, with Billy, the girls in tutus, and Mrs. Wilkinson weaving in and out of the men on both sides of the picket lines, yelling at and fighting with each other. The show is demonstrating how, metaphorically, the union and the police are locked in a sort of dance, as well. The two scenes clash and converge upon one another in one of the most intricate, complex dance sequences I’ve ever seen on stage.

With that said, director Stephen Daldry and choreographer Peter Darling also make sure that the relatively simpler dance numbers are just as powerful. The grandmother’s number, “We’d Go Dancing,” is basically composed of a line of men on stools, smoking and drinking, and slowly, inexorably making their way across the stage, and yet it is absolutely perfect. And most importantly, Billy’s dancing is always the main attraction, particularly in the aforementioned first act closer, “Angry Dance,” a gorgeous second-act fantasy scene in which Billy dances with his older self, and “Electricity,” when Billy dances for his audition. It has been a long time, perhaps since West Side Story, that a Broadway musical has so stunningly told a story through dance sequences every bit as involving, if not more so, than dialogue and lyrics. Billy Elliot makes dance feel exciting, fresh, and vital in a manner I have never seen on a Broadway stage before this.

Billy Elliot is also rather unique in that, although it has a wonderful pop and British folk-infused score that includes the beautiful “Electricity” (one of the single most beautiful theatre songs I’ve ever heard) and “Dear Billy (Mum’s Letter)” and the anthemic “The Stars Look Down” and “Solidarity,” the show’s goal is not to present traditionally “pretty” singing. Character and story are far more important, so the actors, particularly in solos, forego vocal pyrotechnics and instead sing in the same manner as their characters speak, making the show always feel authentic and genuine, approximating what it might sound like if real people burst into song.

Despite being set in a very specific time and place, Billy Elliot’s universality keeps it relevant. Practically anyone can identify with wanting to be unique and to rise above one’s drab background. Billy Elliot naturally also has gay undertones. Ballet dancing is a practice often identified with gay men, and so it is not a stretch to see Billy’s being in the closet about his immense dancing talent as being a metaphor for sexuality. This aspect is not even subtextual in the form of Michael, whose affinity for cross-dressing and crush on Billy, Jake Evan-Schwenke (the Michael I saw, and whose Randolph was the lone reason to have seen Roundabout’s Bye Bye Birdie last year) plays with such innocent matter-of-factness that even the most bigoted audience member would be hard-pressed to take issue with him. His big number, “Expressing Yourself,” in which he convinces Billy to play dress-up with him is very much a gay spin on the Artful Dodger’s “Consider Yourself” from Oliver.

The script also provides hints that Billy may be gay himself, but this is never made explicit, and in this situation, this is a good thing. Billy is young enough that his sexuality, whatever it is, most likely wouldn’t yet be clear to him. More significantly, however, making this a simple issue of sexuality would reduce the show’s scope. The ambiguity here allows for a number of interpretations and prevents the universal themes from being overshadowed by any particular issue. Billy would be remarkable for being a brilliant dancer from a non-conducive background whether or not he were gay. If he isn’t gay, he’s certainly remarkable for being a rural boy who is comfortable with his friend, Michael’s sexuality. Their relationship provides an emotionally perfect close to a nearly perfect evening of theatre.

As far as acting, the standouts the evening I saw it were Dayton Tavares as Billy (though I’m sure the other boys are amazing, as well), Philip Whitchurch, who provides a beautiful character arc to Billy’s Dad, ensuring that his humanity ultimately shines through his coarse exterior, and Kate Hennig, whose strong portrayal of the gutsy and tough-as-nails Mrs. Wilkinson nearly steals the entire show.

It has been a long time since Broadway has had such a phenomenal example of its genre to show off. In recent years, musicals have often seemed to be divided into two categories: financially successful star vehicles that are flashy, shiny, and mostly empty, or darker, deconstructionist works that often fail at the box office for being challenging rather than conventionally “fun.” Billy Elliot captures aspects of both. It is an enormously entertaining and simply enormous production that is a wonder to behold, but it is also dark, involving, and uncompromising in its vision. It may not be extremely complex or surprising from a narrative standpoint (despite overturning cliche in a number of key areas), though it is as a production. With breathtaking heart, exquisite direction, and sublime choreography, Billy Elliot is classic in its sweep and modern in its sensibilities. It inspires a rush of tears, adrenaline, and awe unlike any other theatrical experience I have ever had. Billy describes what it feels like when he is dancing as “electricity.” The same can be said of Billy Elliot: The Musical.
http://www.pinkbananaworld.com/content- ... ?ID=331331
167 Performances!

Lochie x 21.5; Nick x 11; Corey x 1; Rhys x 19; Rarmian x 17.75; Dayton x 24.75; Josh W-G x 18; Michael x 19; Josh D x 12; Daniel x 3; Tom x 1; Ollie G x 1; Fox x 1, Liam R x 2, Alex x 5, Cesar x 2, Tommy x 1, John Peter x 1, Peter x 4, Jacob x 2.
Scott x 30; Thomas x 28.25; Joel x 31; Landen x 33.75; Liam x 14; Jake x 1; Connor x 1; George x 1, Trevor x 4, Jake Evan x 3, Gabriel x 8, Keean x 2, Neil x 11.
Fiona x 18; Rosie x 25; Shannon x 23; Kelsi x 23; Prudence x 2; Lauren x 10; Cassandra x 15; Nina x 9; Isabelle x 12; Fleur x 2; Francesca x 1, Issy x 7, Maria x 4, Georgi x 17.
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Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by ERinVA »

This was already linked in the Blogs section, but it's so good that it deserves a place here too. :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: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by CJ-Rochester »

Nice review Musical Fanatic! Thanks for posting it. Glad to hear you all had a good time. I'm jealous.
:/
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Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

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CJ-Rochester wrote:Glad to hear you all had a good time. I'm jealous.
And so you should be - it was a great show :D :D ;)
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Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by ERinVA »

Musical Fanatic, I can tell you are seriously hooked! Thanks for another good review.:D See you tomorrow. 8-)
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: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

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ERinVA wrote:Musical Fanatic, I can tell you are seriously hooked! Thanks for another good review.:D See you tomorrow. 8-)
Thank you ERinVA I'm completely hooked and sunk(credit card smoking :lol: ). Thanks CJ for the nice comment as well.
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Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by Musical Fanatic »

Sat March 6 Mat. 2pm
Billy-Dayton
Michael-Trevor
SB-Luke

By hook, line and sinker I have been reeled in to Billy Elliot. I can't seem to dislodge the hook or want to. So on to another great show by Dayton and company. All the way up in rmezz row h. Okay seat good price(wallet in flames :lol: otherwise)

Stars Look Down
Having a full regular company just seems to make this scene better to me. I would love to ask Big Davey(Rick Hilsabeck) how he can eat that sandwich every show. I have noticed lately that the forgotten trainers does not get much audience reaction. Luke has such a great presence on stage. Audience is hysterical over Jesus"s and fat b-sterd. Billy's boxing dance, Michael's punch and knockdown of Billy, Georges knockdown of Michael and Michaels low blow go over great. George nails Michael with the boxing glove when he's running out of gym.(first time in a few shows :lol:)

Shine
I don't know how the ballet girls do it show after show. They make scene funny and cute.

Solidarity
I love the comments I hear from people around me. The cursing and violence between miners and police with BG's on stage always is good for a did they really just sing that laugh and gasp. I wish that my ballet terminology was better(head of a pin maybe :D ). Dayton's spins and leap across the stage in front of Mrs W and the police plus miners have me mentally cheering.

Expressing Yourself
There is something I have wanted to write about this scene. Particularly after having read one of the blog reviews knocking how gay this scene comes across. For those of you who are old enough or watched Sat afternoon or late night TV. Milton Berle, Bob Hope or Benny Hil(burlesque)all old time comedians did drag as part of their acts. A large part of this scene particularly the dresses and curtains remind me of old time comedy. This is Michael's star scene in the first act. You see this at the end when he plays the audience for applause and laughter. The Michael"s deserve nothing but applause for making it fun while getting a point of the show across.

Dear Billy
Pure emotion from Dayton that I wish they would do with American Billy's sometimes

Born to Boogie
A grand slam by Dayton, Kate and Thommie !!!! Dayton is speed baby speed plus his hand eye coordination with the jump rope amazing.

Angry Dance
This is another place that the Aussie boys are different in direction. Emotion, vocal intensity are louder more intense.

Dream Ballet
Okay it's really bad when the sequence starts with the chair and your mentally thinking the whole scene threw(Go Great, Go Great) When it does you sigh with relieve and a thank you for Dayton and Easton.

Electricity
As in the Dream Ballet all I am thinking now at the start is hit it and be great Dayton in my mind. Electric! Charismatic! Talented! That is Dayton and his dancing(ballet,acro. and street) in a nutshell. They need to bottle all the different Billy's talent and sell it for a fortune.

Company Celebration
A large smile and the standing ovation that Dayton and Company deserve.
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