Fayetteville Reviews

[Todd]

Sunday matinee - December 9, 2012

Billy - Noah Parets
Michael - Cameron Clifford
Tall/Posh boy - Jake Kitchen
All other cast were regulars

My 4-show weekend in Fayetteville was complete today after seeing Noah as Billy and Cameron as Michael. Like his veteran comrades Kylend and Ben, Noah turned in an excellent performance as Billy. I think he might be in the running for fastest pirouettes, as I'm surprised he doesn't make himself dizzy. His singing is excellent, and he's starting to look more comfortable and seasoned with his acting after being in the show for awhile now. It was pretty much an error-less performance except for nearly losing control of a spinning chair towards the beginning of Swan Lake, only to trip over said chair moments later and take a quick tumble to the stage. He jumped up quickly - almost like a baseball player doing a pop-up slide - and recovered from it nicely. The rest of his performance from that point onward seemed to be pretty much perfect from what I could tell.

Cameron Clifford continues to cement his place among my favorite Michaels, as he looks very comfortable in the role at this point and is a natural ham. Judging by the enthusiastic audience reaction, many other people seemed to feel the same way. His singing was also excellent in "Expressing Yourself." I love how he's made the "cheek pop" one of his personal touches in the Winter Scene, along with telling Billy, "Aww, c'mon . . . . just a widdle bit" when he's trying to get Billy to do "just a little bit" of ballet with him. He's certainly the right size to be able to carry on playing Michael for a good long while yet. I wish his current time in the show was more than just a few weeks "reprise."

Except for Cullen Titmus whom I've never grown comfortable with as Tony, the rest of the adult cast seems at the top of their game - with a comfort in their roles which can be credited greatly to their performing experience in the show. I think Tim Funnell has been a great addition to the cast in the various roles he plays (scab, posh dad, etc). I enjoyed Patrick Wetzel as Mr. Braithwate much more this time than I did on previous tour stops. He seems to be showing a bit more restraint now, rather than over-doing it a bit too much for my tastes, which I thought he used to do before.

I feel very fortunate to have seen 4 very entertaining shows this weekend with all the current Billys, and one very special performance with Ben Cook and Kylend Hetherington performing together. Every time I mourn the departure of one of the many talented cast members - such as Kylend next week - the production team always seems to find amazing new performers to fill the void. I feel certain that the upcoming two new Billys will be no exception, and I already look forward to seeing them somewhere down the road.

[porschesrule]

Thank you, Todd, for taking the time to share your reviews over the weekend. It's nice to hear from some of these "outposts" like Fayetteville where BETM doesn't have a superfan base. Thanks also to Joe for sharing your thoughts for a couple of shows.

The show seems to be consistently excellent as it nears the end of 2012.

[BEtourfan]

Here's a nice review including commentary from Nora Brennan from NWAOnline:

Sure, there are a few limitations for the boys who play Billy Elliot, the dancing, full-of-heart protagonist of the musical by the same name.

They cant be more than about 5 feet tall. Neither do the boys fall far from the 12-14-yearold age range.

Everything else, such as hair color, ethnicity or background, matters not.

Any boy who has the ability to play this role should, says Nora Brennan of Nora Brennan Casting. For the production company responsible for Billy Elliot, Brennan has overseen the selection of many of the Billys, including the four who will alternate performances next week as part of the touring version that visits Fayetteville for an eight-show run beginning Tuesday.

Instead of a specific look, Brennan knows shes found a new Billy - there have been 61 of them in all, culled from more than 2,500 applicants - when she sees a dancer with unstoppable desire. He is the kind of student in dance class that hears criticism, then takes immediate steps to correct his mistakes.

They have to have enormous tenacity, Brennan says by phone. Theyll just go in the corner and work on it.

Casting is critical in Billy Elliot, specifically in finding a set of Billys up to a challenge the shows director, Steven Daldry, has compared to reciting Hamlet while running a marathon. The young boys who play Billy are on stage for the vast majority of the nearly threehour musical, singing, dancing, acting and more.

Its such a high level of many fields, says Brennan, who adds that the typical boy wishing to play Billy needs at least threeyears of ballet training to be considered.

Other stage disciplines can to a degree be taught in rehearsals, but ballet is particularly critical.

The show centers around a young boy, Billy Elliot, who stumbles into a ballet lesson only to find he has a talentand passion for dance. Against the wishes of his father, Billy pursues ballet, working toward a prestigious audition. All the while, his father and brother are embroiled in a miners strike in England, complicating all of their lives.

The tale of Billy Elliot first surfaced as a movie in 2000.

With the help of the original screenwriter, and the addition of music by Elton John, it debuted as a musical first in London and then on Broadway in 2008. The production was nominated for multiple Tony Awards, winning 10, including a joint victory for Best Leading Actor by the three boys who alternated appearances in the role.

The touring production in Fayetteville uses four boys. One is always onstage, with another waiting in the wings in case of illness or injury. Another is usually working on technique, while the fourth takes a night off. Those nights away from the stage are well deserved, considering the boys alsocomplete 15 hours of school work each week with the help of a tutor who travels with the company. The boys work hard enough - or experience a growth spurt so swiftly - most go through at least one pair of ballet flats during their run in the show.

The boys who play Billy all have one major difference from the character in that many of the parents come on tour with them, and all support their young dancers.

And that is exactly what Billy Elliot eventually had waiting for him.

It is the story of this boy, and they (the townsfolk) pull together to help this boy realize his dream, Brennan says.

[ERinVA]

Do you have a link for this article, please?

[BEtourfan]

Do you have a link for this article, please?

Here it is ... http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2012/nov/ ... -20121130/

[angelenroute]

Fayetteville .AK. Sat Mat. Ben/Kylend

This is a rare treat to be sure! I've seen Kylend as Michael to Lex's Billy down in Charlotte, and I've seen Ben as Michael to Kylend's Billy (which we now know he did again for Kylend's last), but never Kylend as Michael to Ben as Billy, something I'm not even sure has happened before. Congrats on being able to see that!

Sean