Des Moines Reviews

[porschesrule]

You mentioned there are three Billy's now. Who are they?

The three Billys currently in the tour rotation are Kylend Hetherington, Ty Forhan and Zach Manske (J.P. Viernes retired at the end of the LA run).

[Todd]

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Billy - Kylend Hetherington
Michael - Jacob Zelonky
Mrs. Wilkinson - Susan Haefner
Small Boy - Brionna Trilling

All other cast was regulars

Tonight was one of those shows where you wish you could preserve on DVD and show to someone when they ask, "What is it that you like about 'Billy Elliot' that's made you go see it so many times ?" In short, it was about as close to perfection - at least as far as I could tell - as any Billy performance I've ever seen. Every so often you see a show where the lines are delivered perfectly, no one stumbles in any of the dances, the singing is all on key, all the actors stay in character, and the audience is lively and receptive. Three shows like that stand out in my memory: one of the London shows with Corey Snide towards the end of his run in 2008, a Broadway performance with Michael Dameski and David Bologna from the summer of 2010, and another Broadway show from last October with Giuseppe Bausilio. This one tonight would join those three.

I had seen Kylend as Billy only once before, which is surprising considering how long he's been at it. It was in St. Louis 7 months ago and I remember thinking that he was very polished and seemed like an old pro up there on stage. I thought the same thing tonight, but there was also a certain "wow !" factor tonight that's hard to put your finger on. Maybe it was simply that he was "in the zone" and fully focused on every line and every reaction throughout the 3 hours of the show. I'm sure that's really hard to do, as I imagine my mind would wander occasionally if I'd done it as many times as he has. . . . and especially if I was 14 years old ! But tonight looked like he was actually living the part of Billy, as opposed to simply playing a character in a show. Everything he said and reacted to was exactly how you would expect someone in Billy's situation to react. On top of that, I was consistently impressed with his strong voice both in delivering his lines, the occasional shout and "whoop !" and in his singing in "Electricity," which was belted out with intensity and force. His screams in "Angry Dance" were blood-curdling and in perfect rhythm with the music. And the way he was able to put his head down during "The Letter" scenes and think about - who knows what - to cause him to start shedding real tears, is nothing short of amazing. Needless to say it had me and many others in the theater wiping away the tears ourselves.

I wonder if the supporting players in a show are able to relax and play their parts better when the lead - in this case Billy - appears to be completely at ease and in charge of the show. In the case of Kylend, it was almost like he was saying, "You all can relax . . . .I've got this one tonight." Not to imply that the rest of the actors were on auto-pilot, but rather that they seemed on top of their game as well, as if they knew that the show was in good hands with Kylend.

Happily, there was a near full house once again to witness this superb performance. I was afraid it might drop off a little after opening night last night, but it was just as big of a crowd tonight too. The show may be onto something, with the idea of only doing one-week runs in most cities. It does create more of an urgency on the part of the ticket-buying public I would think, knowing that they don't have many days to see it so they'd better buy their tickets ASAP. I got a kick out of the two teenage girls sitting next to me, who spent intermission all atwitter at looking at the pictures of the 3 Billys in the program (there's an article called "Finding Billy Elliot" which pictures the current 3 Billys) and trying to figure out which one they were seeing. They were literally on the edge of their seats towards the end when Billy runs back up on stage, and all during the Company Celebration number. I overheard another lady after the show say, "Who would have thought that a story like that could turn into such a great show?" I guess there's some truth to that. When you think of a story for a musical, the first thing on most people's mind wouldn't be, "Oh, the 1984 British miners' strike, of course !"

At any rate, I'd have to say that the audience reaction in Des Moines and the number of seats filled would have to be the best of any city I've seen the tour show performed. Hopefully it will continue for the rest of the week. I'm hoping to see Ty as Billy in one of my two remaining shows, although I heard he had a minor back tweak and had to be scratched from yesterday's show. However, I saw him after tonight's show by the stage door and he seemed to be moving around fine. So hopefully he will be back tomorrow or the day after. He - along with the rest of the cast - scattered quickly after the show, so I wasn't able to congratulate Kylend on his fine effort tonight. But after a show like this one, they all deserve to head back to their hotel, put up their feet, and celebrate a job well done.

[porschesrule]

Todd, thanks for this review "from the road". It's really gratifying to hear such positive observations from a seasoned fan of the show. It truly seems like the show is still top notch and in a very healthy condition.

[gpcolo]

Great review Todd. I have seen Kylend five times and each one surpassed the previous. His slight smile at times through his performance let's the audience know he really has become one with the role.

[BEtourfan]

Thanks for the terrific review, Todd ... great job!

[ActingDude17]

I can always count on you to write great reviews, Todd. Thanks for sharing this one.

[Todd]

Thanks for the encouraging and positive comments on the reviews. The tour does indeed seem to be in good hands at the moment, what with lots of experienced actors who have been performing the show for quite some time now. I got to thinking that the actors who performed last night as Billy, Michael, Dad, Grandma and George - most of the lead characters - have been with the cast since the very first show of this tour in Durham, North Carolina back in October, 2010. I guess it's no wonder that they're hitting on all cylinders these days, what with their familiarity with each other and with their respective roles. I would definitely encourage anyone to see the show on tour while this current group is still mostly intact.

And gpcolo, I also noticed the little sly smile that Kylend breaks into on occasion. It does seem to show a sense of ease and confidence on his part, as well as what is most likely a witty sense of humor. He does seem to be having the time of his life up there on stage, which is a testament to the show itself and the comraderie amongst the cast. This is certainly apparent at the stage door when everyone comes out and is laughing, talking, and interacting in a manner as if to say, "Well, what fun thing should we go and do now ?" Just some of the things that help make this show so special and carries over to a feel-good atmosphere for the audience as well.

[BEtourfan]

I got to thinking that the actors who performed last night as Billy, Michael, Dad, Grandma and George - most of the lead characters - have been with the cast since the very first show of this tour in Durham, North Carolina back in October, 2010.

The amazing thing is how they keep it fresh for every performance. What an incredible talent to have!

[BEtourfan]

Here's a great video review of the show from KCCI-TV in Des Moines:
http://www.kcci.com/Billy-Elliot/-/9357 ... index.html

[Todd]

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Billy - Ty Forhan
Michael - Cameron Clifford
Tall/Posh Boy - Jacob Zelonky
Debbie - Madison Barnes
Mrs. Wilkinson - Susan Haefner

All other cast were regulars

It was another huge, appreciative crowd tonight at the Des Moines Civic Center. The back 5 rows were unfilled (there's probably about 40 rows, front to back), but other than that, the rest of the auditorium was full. After being spoiled last night and the night before with a seat in 2nd row center, I had my least-desirable spot of my 4 shows tonight as I was about 14 rows back on the left side. Unfortunately, the left side of the stage was blocked from view and my attention was further hindered by a handicapped gentleman to my right who - through no fault of his own - blurted out comments occasionally. Needless to say, I had my eye on several unoccupied seats in the 2nd row and moved down there for the 2nd half, which was much better.

Due to the above seating distractions, I hardly feel qualified to comment on the first act. I did notice several things that I don't normally, due to having a wider angle of the stage than I do when I'm sitting up close. And I was also impressed with the clarity of the sound, which was just as easy to hear from further back on the side as it was towards the very front in the center. I was glad to see that Ty was performing tonight since I've never seen him before, and also glad that he was apparently recovered from whatever ailed him 2 nights ago. I wasn't close enough to pick up on facial expressions or subtle nuances of his acting, but I can say that his "Angry Dance" was superb. He performed it aggressively with lots of shouting, and I found it to be almost tear-inducing as he came across as very vulnerable and at his wits' end with frustration, which is certainly a big part of what the number is trying to get across.

In the 2nd half, with the advantage of sitting closer, I was able to notice that Ty's way of playing Billy is quite different than both Zach and Kylend. Whereas those two are quite demonstrative with their emotions and occasionally show a playful/impish side, Ty was quite serious throughout and was very understated with his line delivery and reaction to situations. In fact, after awhile, I began to wonder if he was beginning to suffer again from whatever caused him to miss his scheduled performance the other night. During "Swan Lake," the music changed rather abruptly right at the point where the flying sequence was supposed to begin and cut straight to the end of the number where Billy pirouettes over to his dad. Either the flying equipment was out of order, or it was decided that Ty shouldn't do it so as to not further aggrivate his injury. At any rate, the audience seemed to sense that something had been cut out, as there was silence after he pirouetted over to his dad before somewhat stilted applause finally began.

Another unfortunate technical problem that occured was during the first half of "Express Yourself" when Cameron's microphone kept cutting in and out. For one rather long stretch, only Ty's voice could be heard despite Cameron's mouth moving with no sound coming out. I felt bad for him since it was his big number in the show, but it sounded more like a Billy solo.

Two people that deserve special mention:

I've seen Rich Hebert a number of times as Jackie Elliot and I've enjoyed every one of his performances. He seems gifted in both comedic acting and in the emotional scenes, as he's teared up during "Deep Into the Ground" at each of the shows I've seen this week. His singing in that song is also excellent.

And it's really good to see Tim Funnell again, as I enjoyed him in every show in which I saw him in London. I thought he did a great job as Tony whenever I saw him play that part there, and hope he gets a shot at it again sometime during the U.S. tour. At the moment, he's playing the scab and the posh dad. I think his posh dad is the best I've seen since the actor who played the part in the original London cast (I believe his name was Francis Maston). Since then, it's been played progressively over the top to the point where it can be annoying. He adds some comic touches which are quite good and plays it more "effite" than others I've seen, and has gotten big laughs in each show this week.

I thought it was a nice touch to let the local Des Moines ballet girl - Madison Barnes - play Debbie tonight. She did very well and no one would have known that she's not the usual person to play the part.

So while tonight's show didn't match the electricity of last night, it was entertaining as always and seemed to be well-received from the audience. I do feel like I caught Ty when he wasn't at 100%, which I regret since this may be the only time I see him perform. Still, he came through big in Billy's two big dance numbers - "Angry Dance" and "Electricity," which received huge applause. There's no denying his talent, which I'm sure will carry him to great heights in his future endeavors.