Las Vegas Reviews

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CJ-Rochester
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Re: Las Vegas Reviews

Post by CJ-Rochester »

Wow thanks for the reviews Todd and Kiwi! It was obviously an emotional night. Your reviews really helped the rest of us to feel like we were there. Thank you! :D
:/
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angelenroute
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Re: Las Vegas Reviews

Post by angelenroute »

Todd wrote:For the first time I ever remember, Dead Mum ended the song by using the actor's real name, as she sang "Love you forever - Ben" instead of saying "Billy." She then gave Ben a hug before leaving the stage.
Thank you for your review, Todd. It did my heart good.

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
gpcolo
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Re: Las Vegas Reviews

Post by gpcolo »

I saw two weekend shows at the Smith Center in Las Vegas. I could have done a few more, but a sick relative and another with a sprained ankle “It hurts, but I’m not missing Billy!” consumed my time. Thanks to KiwiT and Todd for putting your thoughts down for us to relive and I’m sorry I missed meeting both of you. I had my hands full with my relatives.

Anyway, here are my memorable moments from Mitch’s Friday night show and Ben/Sam’s finale on Sunday night.

• Going into the theater and seeing the stage stairs in their familiar place on the left side. I love seeing the show from the lower left orchestra and watching Billy’s final walk up that aisle.
• Witnessing Mitch nail his Electricity. Every move had purpose and he was in perfect sync with the orchestra. He didn’t act like his size up there as this big than life performance brought thunderous applause. The goose bumps were everywhere.
• Seeing Rich and Joel in their familiar roles as Dad and George. What a pleasure watching these two pros put everything into their performance after being in the roles for years. I tip my hat to both of them. They are what acting is all about.
• Waiting for the show to begin Sunday night and seeing Kylend Hetherington walk up the aisle to his seat. It brought back fond memories of seeing him on tour several times in Denver and L.A. He was back to see his friend, Ben, perform for the final time. Billy Elliot is truly a family.
• Getting to see Sam twice as Michael. What a character and a talent. I’ll be watching in years to come as more people experience and rave about all he is going to offer in the performing arts. Best wishes, Sam.
• Waiting for Dead Mum to walk away from Ben, but then she calls him by his real name and gives him a smothering goodbye hug. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.
• Getting to experience Ben’s Billy for the first and last time. Oh my! His acting is spot on and as he says the words, you can hear the emotion, whether it is happy, sad, or scared. Like many before him, Ben became Billy. Not as an actor playing the role, but someone who has command of every facet of who Billy Elliot the character is.
• Not just in either of these shows, but every show... my favorite part is always when Mrs. W stands back and sees the potential Billy has when after picking up the biscuit, he gracefully turns on one foot. For me, this is the core of the whole story. Discovering a talent, then developing a path for that person to develop and use their gift to its utmost.
• Seeing Ben’s piano flip. I was beginning to think I’d never see another.
• Ben and Sam’s final scene, calling each other by their real names. Watching from my aisle seat as Ben takes his final walk up the aisle. Emotions were bursting from every corner of the theater.
• The final goodbye to Ben, Sam, and Craig Bennett from Janet Dickinson at the curtain call. I never wanted it to end.
• Finally, hearing the roar from behind the curtain as the celebration continued for the cast.

So long Billy Elliot. I won’t catch any more shows this summer, but don’t stay away for too long. I know you’ll be back.
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tankntonic
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Re: Las Vegas Reviews

Post by tankntonic »

I'd like to add my massive thanks to KiwiT, Todd, and Gpcolo for letting us all in on their Las Vegas experiences..and my massive jealousy as well !!

Professional reviewers have their place, I suppose, but when it comes to BETM, a forum member in the audience is the next best thing to being there.
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StevenKing
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Re: Las Vegas Reviews

Post by StevenKing »

angelenroute wrote:
Todd wrote:For the first time I ever remember, Dead Mum ended the song by using the actor's real name, as she sang "Love you forever - Ben" instead of saying "Billy." She then gave Ben a hug before leaving the stage.
Thank you for your review, Todd. It did my heart good.
Wow...I'd say THAT was a first...I'd have choked up at that.
Todd
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Re: Las Vegas Reviews

Post by Todd »

Thanks for the kind words on the review. I guess great theater tends to inspire in more ways than one, and makes it fun to try and relay the drama and emotion of the night. Last shows are definitely a mixed bag - memorable in their uniqueness but sad because you're seeing someone leave whom you've enjoyed watching perform . . . and would most likely enjoy continuing to watch perform if they were going to continue. At least there's always the consolation that the show itself will still be around, even if the performer himself won't be. I guess it will be a different kind of sadness after June 23 . . . .
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AJ HOLDEN
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Re: Las Vegas Reviews

Post by AJ HOLDEN »

Las Vegas was my first tour show since LA. I was actually in the US for national police week in Washington DC and after a tour with the FBI and even meeting Obama, and even being on an exploding train at Silver Spring (fox news was convinced I was with the FBI and wanted an interview) I was delighted to be able to add on the trip to Vegas which was basically the highlight of the week.
I saw 5 shows, each Billy inc Drew twice. It goes without saying that Ben's last show was amazing. His dancing was as near to perfection as you can get and the emotion at the end frankly was without equal. I doubt the London show will ever allow dead mum to call Billy by his real name, we hardly ever get that between Billy and Michael now. It was obvious the high esteem the company gave to Ben.
I was also mightily impressed by Drew, Noah and Mitchell. We are honoured in London to have Tade but I would be delighted to see any of these three Billy's in London as they all possess such amazing all round ability.
I was impressed by the Smith Centre. A beautiful venue. My only gripe was it's size. I had good seats yet was never close enough to the stage to see the faces of any of the actors. That does take away some of the emotion and enjoyment. This inability to see the faces was highlighted when after the final night I thought I might take a quick photo of Ben. Waiting patiently whilst some other kids were posing with him but suddenly realising that the photo opportunity might be missed, I took a photo of Ben. I showed the picture to Kiwi and said do you know who the other kids are and he said they were the four Billy's!!!
I still prefer this show to the London version. I'm still not a fan of the London director and hope to see the show lighten up a bit when the new one starts. I know that a lot of long term forum fans prefer the London version, yet I feel there is just something lacking in London which the tour seems to get right. A couple of examples, in the breakfast scene, Billy throws the mank pasty in the bin, followed by the Plate. A year ago London Billy would look at the plate, make a face and then throw the plate away. Now they just throw the plate away, which doesn't get a reaction from the audience. At least the tour Billy's make a face which explains why they would throw the plate away. Another example is in Boogie, when Mr B is sitting on the chair and Billy leans over and touches his greasy hair. A year ago Billy would look at his hand and make a face and wipe his hand on his t shirt, now their is barely a reaction and another comedy moment is being lost. The tour Billy's again get a better reaction to this by making faces and making a point of wiping their hands. I would be interested in knowing who puts in the new material. I noticed a lovely addition on the tour, simply when Mrs W asks Billy if he is coming back next week and he says, What, to this crap, Mitchell in particularly did the rapid up and down movement with the fan. Harris on Thursday also did this movement with the fan. I am certain this is new, so basically who thought it up and how quickly does it cross the Atlantic and in which direction?
I love the American audiences. They seem to laugh a lot more than the London audience and some lines nearly get standing ovations, most notably when George says, we will be supporting the arts.
I still think the accents are an issue for the tour. I always talk to my neighbours in the audience, getting their reaction and naturally it is always 100% positive, with the only negative being they couldn't always pick up what was being said. I went to see Matilda in New York after Las Vegas. Again lots of positive reactions, but there was definitely an issue over understanding what was being said. I think the production team will have to make a serious decision about letting Matilda speak with her own American accent rather than make her British. The songs also have a lot of curious words and rhymes that are hard to pick up. I' m going to see To Kill A Mocking Bird at Regent's Park on Monday and it will be interesting to see how the actors and audience cope with a strong American accent. Boots on the other foot for once!
Just a quick thank you to Kiwi for saying hello and pointing out all the actors whom I was totally oblivious to being surrounded by. I thought I had an impressive ratio of different Billy's to number of shows, basically I have seen 113 shows and 29 different Billy's, but Kiwi easily beat that with about 47 Billy's from about 140 shows.
That concludes my tour experience. I am sure there will be some emotional scenes in the next few weeks as the show winds down among fans and staff. I will certainly save me a fortune as I have made 6 trips to the US, primarily fitting holidays around the NY and tour shows, so now back to a fortnight in Majorca for my vacations!

Alex
London
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angelenroute
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Re: Las Vegas Reviews

Post by angelenroute »

AJ HOLDEN wrote:I know that a lot of long term forum fans prefer the London version, yet I feel there is just something lacking in London which the tour seems to get right. A couple of examples, in the breakfast scene, Billy throws the mank pasty in the bin, followed by the Plate. A year ago London Billy would look at the plate, make a face and then throw the plate away. Now they just throw the plate away, which doesn't get a reaction from the audience. At least the tour Billy's make a face which explains why they would throw the plate away. Another example is in Boogie, when Mr B is sitting on the chair and Billy leans over and touches his greasy hair. A year ago Billy would look at his hand and make a face and wipe his hand on his t shirt, now their is barely a reaction and another comedy moment is being lost. The tour Billy's again get a better reaction to this by making faces and making a point of wiping their hands.
Thank you, Alex. I have always been a fan of the differences in various parts of the show, hearing about how London does something better or vice versa. It's a very cool experience following the forum here and listening to random comments like yours whenever they show up. If I were anywhere near the production, I'd watch the forum for hints and suggestions all the time. I remember speaking to Thommie Retter (Broadway's Mr. Braithwaite) about the "baskets of pansies...yes thank you, Mr. Braithwaite" moment and he never knew about this in the beginning of the Broadway run. I forget now who told him to start doing it but it took a while to make it in.

Sean
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