Billy Elliot the Forum

JOIN THE FORUM AND VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PRODUCTION

I could not make up my mind between the Broadway Tours and the Local Amateur Productions. Then I remembered that I should compare all the venues that I saw of each one to all the venues that I saw of the other.
The Professional Tours had all the basics at every venue, but the Amateurs lacked some basics such as scenery (at Williamstown and Media) and the flying scene. But taken as a whole, Venice had both spectacular scenery and flying, but lacked the world-class 11year old Billy of Williamstown.
The moral of the story is that, in order to truly enjoy the Local Amateur Productions, everyone should attend several venues. They are refreshingly different. It’s worth the travel.

I voted for the Local Amateur Productions as my favorite.

The disparity in the results so far is great. I'm happy so many different versions appealed to so many different people!

The Local Amateur Productions had a family atmosphere that I enjoyed. The audience always seemed involved in the action. This was often lacking in the other productions that I have seen.

I often found myself sitting next to a parent of the Billy or Michael. Nearby were other friends or relatives of other children or cast members. At one venue, I talked to the school librarian/teacher of Billy’s school who sat next to me. It was fun educating her about the play and how difficult the part was that her student was mastering. And people laughed and clapped. For me, this made the Local Amateur Productions at several locations my favorite.

The size of the theater, the location of your seats, and the enthusiasm and reactions of the crowd are huge factors in the enjoyment of Billy Elliot the Musical. A theater that seats 1500 but only sold 500 seats takes away the intimate atmosphere. Sitting too far away ruins the emotion. A dead audience destroys the energy of everyone, including the performers.
The Amateur productions are not as technically advanced as professional productions, but the amateurs have small theaters, enthusiastic performers and engaged audiences. I enjoyed them the best.

Remember that this poll asks for your favorite production of Billy Elliot The Musical, not the best production. The theater, crowds, seats, cost, parking, enthusiasm and who you are attending the show with, all determine your favorite show. That must explain why the Broadway Production is not getting more votes. It certainly qualifies as the best production in North America.

I find it strange that the big city/ big theater productions in New York, Chicago and Toronto were among the least favorite presentations.

madashell wrote:I find it strange that the big city/ big theater productions in New York, Chicago and Toronto were among the least favorite presentations.

Perhaps it is a case of 'some are more favored than others'?

I'm not certain, but I believe most of our active posters here are either UK based or have been to the London and UK Tour productions quite a lot. I might have chosen it too had I seen the show there more than once. As it is, I'm still the only one to have chosen Broadway. Oh, well. To each her own.

Sean

madashell wrote:I find it strange that the big city/ big theater productions in New York, Chicago and Toronto were among the least favorite presentations.

With only 20 votes cast, that's not enough to draw any conclusions.

madashell wrote:I find it strange that the big city/ big theater productions in New York, Chicago and Toronto were among the least favorite presentations.

Perhaps a matter of semantics, but the big city/big theater productions not garnering many votes for "favorite production" does not necessarily mean they were "least favorite". I voted for Second Broadway Tour, but Broadway was a very close second. I just felt there were enough positive changes to overcome negative ones resulting in Tour 2 winning out. The scale tipped the other direction for local/regional, although I also had to think long and hard about kport's post in support of Ogunquit. That was excellent as well, but still edged out by 2nd tour.