Kansas City reviews
Kansas City reviews
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Billy - Drew Minard
Michael - Jake Kitchen
George - (alternate . . .not sure who it was)
After almost 8 years of following this amazing show all over the world, I had the unique experience of finally seeing it performed in my home town tonight. I also had the opportunity to introduce 6 people to the show who hadn't seen it before, as we did a "group outing" of teachers from the school where I teach, along with a few spouses. I'm happy to report that they all came away believers, as several of them told me afterwards, "Now I know why you like this show so much !"
After reading all the glowing reports about Drew, I was excited to see his name on the cast board when we arrived. He certainly lived up to his billing, and then some. He fits the definition of "triple threat" to a T, with his dancing being especially breathtaking. In fact, I can't think of any other Billy I've seen who looks this accomplished and "fully formed, lept from the brow of Zeus" after such a short time in the show. Typically, when seeing a new Billy for the first time who hasn't been in the show for very long, you find yourself thinking, "Wow, he's got lots of talent and is already good, but I'll bet he'll smooth down of a few of those rough edges and be really amazing in about 3 or 4 more months." But with Drew, he honestly does look like someone who has about 9 months in the show under his belt. The only things that give away the fact that he might be a newer Billy is that he looks younger than most of the Billys I've seen, and his angry dance had a few moments of "dancing" - like when he's in the box - rather than a passionate anger in his tapping that usually comes from more practice on this very difficult number.
What stuck out to me more than anything is his amazing pirouettes. I'm certainly no dance expert, but I noticed - at least tonight - that when he does his pirouettes, he remains in exactly the same spot on stage, not sliding around every time he makes a turn. They're also incredibly fast turns, making you wonder how he keeps from making himself dizzy. His gymnastic moves in "Electricity" were also very smooth and spot on.
As has been also mentioned in other reviews, his singing is very good and on pitch, and his acting is quite good -especially his enunciation. The actors have their hands full in this particular theater (The Kansas City Music Hall), as the acoustics are below average from most theaters where I've seen the show. The sound quality sounded very muffled and bass-heavy, at least where I was sitting (1st balcony). It also may have been the furthest I've ever sat from the stage, making it one of the few times that I couldn't always tell which actor was playing a particular part. For example, I couldn't tell if it was Jake Kitchen or Sam Poon playing Michael until I checked the cast board after the show. The far-away seats were due mostly to needing a block of 8 seats together for my teacher friends and I, along with the fact that all the good seats were sold quickly when I first began looking for tickets.
The large crowd was enthusiastic and receptive, giving Drew a loud round of applause in "Electricty," even before he began doing his pirouettes. They also laughed loudly at many of the humorous lines in the show, although I noticed several of the lines got lost in the muddy sound system and didn't seem to register with the crowd. As a bonus after the show, we were in the lobby preparing to leave when Drew Minard suddenly appeared, and was quickly swallowed up by a large group of well-wishers from his home town in Iowa. Included in the group was his dance teacher, who must have been bursting with pride to see his star pupil strutting his stuff on the big stage. Suffice to say, there were lots of bear hugs, congratulations, and tears of joy as it reminded me of an episode of the old TV show "This Is Your Life" (for those of you old enough to remember it), as Drew was flying from one surprise visitor to another to give them hugs and thank you's for coming to see him. He was also kind enough to visit and to pose for a picture with my teacher group as well. A very polite and humble young man. Oh, and did I mention amazingly talented ?
Billy - Drew Minard
Michael - Jake Kitchen
George - (alternate . . .not sure who it was)
After almost 8 years of following this amazing show all over the world, I had the unique experience of finally seeing it performed in my home town tonight. I also had the opportunity to introduce 6 people to the show who hadn't seen it before, as we did a "group outing" of teachers from the school where I teach, along with a few spouses. I'm happy to report that they all came away believers, as several of them told me afterwards, "Now I know why you like this show so much !"
After reading all the glowing reports about Drew, I was excited to see his name on the cast board when we arrived. He certainly lived up to his billing, and then some. He fits the definition of "triple threat" to a T, with his dancing being especially breathtaking. In fact, I can't think of any other Billy I've seen who looks this accomplished and "fully formed, lept from the brow of Zeus" after such a short time in the show. Typically, when seeing a new Billy for the first time who hasn't been in the show for very long, you find yourself thinking, "Wow, he's got lots of talent and is already good, but I'll bet he'll smooth down of a few of those rough edges and be really amazing in about 3 or 4 more months." But with Drew, he honestly does look like someone who has about 9 months in the show under his belt. The only things that give away the fact that he might be a newer Billy is that he looks younger than most of the Billys I've seen, and his angry dance had a few moments of "dancing" - like when he's in the box - rather than a passionate anger in his tapping that usually comes from more practice on this very difficult number.
What stuck out to me more than anything is his amazing pirouettes. I'm certainly no dance expert, but I noticed - at least tonight - that when he does his pirouettes, he remains in exactly the same spot on stage, not sliding around every time he makes a turn. They're also incredibly fast turns, making you wonder how he keeps from making himself dizzy. His gymnastic moves in "Electricity" were also very smooth and spot on.
As has been also mentioned in other reviews, his singing is very good and on pitch, and his acting is quite good -especially his enunciation. The actors have their hands full in this particular theater (The Kansas City Music Hall), as the acoustics are below average from most theaters where I've seen the show. The sound quality sounded very muffled and bass-heavy, at least where I was sitting (1st balcony). It also may have been the furthest I've ever sat from the stage, making it one of the few times that I couldn't always tell which actor was playing a particular part. For example, I couldn't tell if it was Jake Kitchen or Sam Poon playing Michael until I checked the cast board after the show. The far-away seats were due mostly to needing a block of 8 seats together for my teacher friends and I, along with the fact that all the good seats were sold quickly when I first began looking for tickets.
The large crowd was enthusiastic and receptive, giving Drew a loud round of applause in "Electricty," even before he began doing his pirouettes. They also laughed loudly at many of the humorous lines in the show, although I noticed several of the lines got lost in the muddy sound system and didn't seem to register with the crowd. As a bonus after the show, we were in the lobby preparing to leave when Drew Minard suddenly appeared, and was quickly swallowed up by a large group of well-wishers from his home town in Iowa. Included in the group was his dance teacher, who must have been bursting with pride to see his star pupil strutting his stuff on the big stage. Suffice to say, there were lots of bear hugs, congratulations, and tears of joy as it reminded me of an episode of the old TV show "This Is Your Life" (for those of you old enough to remember it), as Drew was flying from one surprise visitor to another to give them hugs and thank you's for coming to see him. He was also kind enough to visit and to pose for a picture with my teacher group as well. A very polite and humble young man. Oh, and did I mention amazingly talented ?
Re: Kansas City reviews
Here's a very positive review from the Kansas City Star.
http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/23/40 ... utter.html
http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/23/40 ... utter.html
- porschesrule
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Re: Kansas City reviews
Todd -- thanks for the great review. Nice to hear Drew leads things off with a group of his family/friends in attendance and in such fine style. Hopefully last night is indicative of the warm and enthusiastic reception Kansas City is giving the show. At one point, I saw a tweet made by someone associated with the show that said something to the effect -- "Wow! three standing O's for Electricity!"
And also a very positive writeup from the Kansas City Star critic.
Things are off to a great start in Kansas City!!
And also a very positive writeup from the Kansas City Star critic.
Things are off to a great start in Kansas City!!
- porschesrule
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Re: Kansas City reviews
Here's another generally positive review from Fox4 News in Kansas City:
http://fox4kc.com/2013/01/22/billy-elli ... usic-hall/
http://fox4kc.com/2013/01/22/billy-elli ... usic-hall/
- angelenroute
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Re: Kansas City reviews
I actually read this as being really negative. I mean he says it's a good show while at the same time filling his review with so many negative, backhanded statements. I really grew to dislike the guy throughout the article. Maybe it's just in how you read it, but I saw so many throwaway comments in there that just seemed so unnecessarily mean and mean-spirited.BEtourfan wrote:Here's a very positive review from the Kansas City Star.
http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/23/40 ... utter.html
- angelenroute
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Re: Kansas City reviews
So happy to hear it, Todd! I had a hunch you'd be there.Todd wrote:After almost 8 years of following this amazing show all over the world, I had the unique experience of finally seeing it performed in my home town tonight. I also had the opportunity to introduce 6 people to the show who hadn't seen it before, as we did a "group outing" of teachers from the school where I teach, along with a few spouses. I'm happy to report that they all came away believers, as several of them told me afterwards, "Now I know why you like this show so much !"
- porschesrule
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Re: Kansas City reviews
Here's a very positive review of the show from a blog site.
His conclusion: "Final thoughts and grade: Billy Elliot is an excellent theatrical experience that should not be missed. The show will make audience members laugh, cry and cheer but will make everyone dance in their seats. Grade:A"
http://jakes-take.com/2013/01/a-night-a ... ly-elliot/
His conclusion: "Final thoughts and grade: Billy Elliot is an excellent theatrical experience that should not be missed. The show will make audience members laugh, cry and cheer but will make everyone dance in their seats. Grade:A"
http://jakes-take.com/2013/01/a-night-a ... ly-elliot/
- angelenroute
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Re: Kansas City reviews
GREAT REVIEW and GREAT PHOTO!porschesrule wrote:Here's a very positive review of the show from a blog site:
http://jakes-take.com/2013/01/a-night-a ... ly-elliot/
- porschesrule
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Re: Kansas City reviews
The Examiner.com adds this review to the mix from Kansas City:
http://www.examiner.com/review/billy-el ... music-hall
http://www.examiner.com/review/billy-el ... music-hall
- porschesrule
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Re: Kansas City reviews
And the Examiner.com adds another great review -- by a different writer:
http://www.examiner.com/review/billy-el ... music-hall
http://www.examiner.com/review/billy-el ... music-hall