Saturday, November 28th
Matinee
Billy - Tom,
Michael - Jake
Debbie - Fleur
Mr B - Shaun Henson
Grandma - Romy
The rest of the characters played by the principals.
I am not very good at writing reviews so will just make a few observations.
Tom: Brilliant as ever. His singing voice is still excellent and I hope this means that he will be with us for a long time to come. His letter is, as has been said on many occasions, gut wrenching. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
Jake: A very funny Michael. He uses his glasses as a great prop. His singing and tap are also top rate.
Fleur: Boy she has one heck of a voice for such a small young lady. When she shouts “Mam” it is enough to shatter glass. I love her portrayal of Debbie.
Joanne: When she first started in the role I felt that she was a very hard Mrs W and I had my reservations. She now starts off very hard but as her relationship with Billy develops you can see her softening. It is a wonderful piece of acting. I find the final scene between Billy and Mrs W very touching.
Romy: I love here portryal of Grandma and if ever Ann decides to retire
Then they have a ready replacement in Romy.
Shaun: He is a great Mr B. Very good dancer and also extremely funny. He does the splits with ease. I also love his little mannerisms - e.g: the way he "rearranges his shorts".
The rest of the cast were also on top form. A fantastic show and it got all the forum members in the mood for what was to come in the evening.
Saturday, November 28th
Evening
Billy - Fox
Michael - Connor (last performance)
Debbie - Annabelle (last performance)
Mr B - Shaun Henson
The rest of the characters played by the principals.
Nick Evans gave his usual eloquent speech before the start of the show telling the audience the names of all the leavers that night - including, of course, Connor and Annabelle.
The theatre was full and it is so nice to see all the young cast members who are not performing sat in the audience.
Reviews have already been posted about this show so there is little that I can add. I will say though that Fox was supreme and I hope that he, like Tom in the matinee, is with us for a long time to come.
Connor is so funny. His facial expressions are wonderful, along with great singing, acting and tap, and I am sure we have not seen the last of this young man. Well done Connor. You should be very proud of yourself. He was, understandably, very upset as the final curtain came down.
Annabelle has been a wonderful Debbie and I have been fortunate to have seen her many times. The delivery of her lines is first class and you can tell by the cheers from the cast in the audience that she is well thought of. Well done Annabelle. You, also, should be very proud of yourself.
The Ballet Girls gave 110%. It was the last night for most of them and they were determined to go out with a bang. More pushing and shoving than usual and I am surprised that some were not carried off on stretchers. Well done girls. I always say that you are the unsung heroes of this show and this performance did nothing to make me change my opinion. Also congratulations to Thomas McKenna who performed as Tall Boy for the final time.
Thank you to the rest of the cast that left as well. I have posted elsewhere who they are but make no apologies for posting again. The adults that left were Andy Black (second cover Tony), Shaun Walters (1st cover Older Billy), Daniel Ioannou (2nd cover Older Billy), Sorelle Marsh (2nd cover Dead Mum}, Kate Graham (she actually left a couple of weeks ago) and Stephanie Putson (Dead Mum). Also most of the girls in the three ballet teams have left - in fact I was told that there are 8 girls left out of the three teams. I know Tall Boy Jonathan Danciger left recently but I do not know about Tyler John Parker so if anybody can enlighten us then it would be appreciated.
There were 2 coaches outside the front of the Victoria Palace waiting to whisk the cast away for a party - which was thoroughly deserved. Well done to everybody.
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Billy Whiz is the Gallery Admin. Please send your photos, articles etc to forum.gallery[at]billyelliottheforum.me.uk Please replace [at] with @
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