Orlando Reviews

[cainmac]

I just completed my first (almost) Billy-thon. I was able to bring lots of friends and family to Saturday’s matinee and was back for both performances on Sunday.

I don’t want to repeat the two great reviews of Sunday’s matinee with Ty performing. I was too far back to see the tears during “The Letter,” but what I did see was a partial Standing O after his performance of “Electricity”. Okay, maybe it was about 50 of us in the back…but it counts. It was great to see the theatre nearly full (only a few seats left in the back of orchestra and balcony.

And, Ty’s singing voice is excellent! Any comment that there was a lack of talent just boggles my mind. In fact, those around me at Sunday’s matinee said that the show was every bit on par with anything they have seen on Broadway. Leah Hocking as Mrs. Wilkinson, Rich Hebert as Dad, Cynthia Darlow as Grandma, Joel Blum as George, and Cullan R. Titmas as Tony all were some of the best that I have seen. As others have said, they’ve added lots of twists during the show to keep the audience. I love the way the mailman sings “Pooooooooost” and Grandma echoes “Poooooost”.

What a blessing it was to see Kylend perform at Saturday’s matinee. I also had seen him as Tall/Posh boy on Broadway and was happy to see him as Billy. His “Letter” is very emotional and our friends kept saying, “that boy is so talented”. My heart stopped when I saw the first chair tip a bit during “Electricity”. Not a problem, though. Maybe it was just my imagination.
Jacob and Cameron were both outstanding as Michael. Jacob has a twist that I have never seen before...in the scene at the Hall (when Michael gets to try on the tutu), Jacob lets out a high pitched scream when he does the splits. In fact, he has to wait a bit for the audience to stop laughing before he can deliver the “nutcracker” line. And, his tap during “Express Yourself” is incredible.

I was thankful to see J. P. in the Billy role. (no one can ever tell me that the tour lacks talent in Billys). He has some great acrobatic additions to the Angry dance and Electricity. I told him, later, that I missed the video blogs he used to do in Toronto. He said that he still does them, but hasn’t had fast enough internet to upload them.

I loved Jeremy as small boy. He adds some great touches. Plus, Samantha as Debbie, and all the Ballet girls were terrific. I’m sorry that I was only able to get a couple autographs as they all boarded the kids’ bus after Sunday night’s performance. After the matinees, only a few actors came through the stage door. The kids were all outside by the trucks in a nice, closed in area. I’m thinking they were enjoying some Orlando sunshine.

Some housekeeping thoughts…I don’t mind any set changes. The actors having to make scene changes takes a little getting used to, but not unexpected in any play. I did see a couple people walk out, but only at Saturday's matinee. And, the tour language seemed the same "cleaned up" version to me. I only heard the "f" word a couple times (from Michael and Mrs. W.) Of course, I may be numb to it.

Was it just the Bob Carr in Orlando, or has the tour eliminated Billy (and the others) coming up and down the aisle? And, unlike the Straz Center in Tampa, the Bob Carr does not post ushers at every door. So, side doors opened and closed throughout the performances. The light coming in was very distracting to me.

One last note that was very interesting to me…one of the Bob Carr support staff mentioned to me that the reason the second week was canceled was because of the NBA All Star game coming to Orlando next week. I asked the Orlando Venues guard at the stage door and he confirmed it. Actually, the NBA has been pretty heavy-handed about a number of things around the All Star Game, so it doesn’t surprise me that theywouldn’t want any other major events going on nearby. I throw it out as a possibility. I was saddened by the shortened schedule, but heartened to see the nearly full theatres. A profitable tour is a longer tour. And, a US/Canada tour is less expensive to get to than the trip to London…which, I swear, is still in my future.

Michael
(Lots of us Michael’s doing Orlando reviews.)

[tankntonic]

Orlando Week-end
Had a business trip to Miami for Sunday, so I thought “ isn’t Orlando kinda on the way ?” So I booked myself a layover in Orlando for a Billy weekend. I saw three Billys, but was so disappointed to miss Ty, who may be my favorite Billy of all.
On Friday night it was JP, Cameron, and Kylend as tall/posh boy. Having never seen JP, I was tickled to death. Well, I wasn’t ready for my emotional reaction to JP’s “letter”. It wasn’t just his acting, which was spot on, but when JP sang, he actually spoke instead of sang a few of the lines….. . The “hook” of BETM for me is watching these kids start off and grow into the part and then leave . JP is definitely a grizzled veteran now , and it’s been a great run for him.
At the beginning of BTB, JP said something to Leah under his breath which cracked her up and she was smiling the whole bit, he is brilliant in this , his rope skipping is awesome, he never missed a beat with several crossovers and perfect tapping. Ended with a spectacular flip off the piano.
Cameron is a ball of fire, his enthusiasm during Express is contagious. The tour has done away with the huge dancing dresses and replaced them with dancers in bright colored dresses and weird masks which resemble blank faces. It’s the only change that bothered me. I miss Michael chasing the trousers off stage.
The crowd on friday was the deadest, least enthusiastic crowd I have seen.
Saturday Matinee featured Kylend and Jacob. The “tall boy” roll was filled by the afore mentioned fireball, Cameron Clifford. Now I know that theatre requires of us to use our imagination, bur calling Cameron “tall boy” requires a complete leap of faith, this guy is about three feet tall. But he did a great job, they can call him superman if they want. Kylend also did well, as usual, he is really talented, and knows the role so well. The crowd was much more enthusiastic and there was yelling and screaming …thank you Orlando.
Saturday night it was Zach, Cameron and Jacob as tall boy. I was happy to see Zach, now I have seen all of the Tour Billys at least once. I believe Zach’s strongest talent is acting, and he has a really expressive face. It’s very apparent that he is enjoying himself on stage and the audience responds. This audience started slowly and he kind of molded them to the point of really being enthusiastic by the end. During the finale, the gigantic smile never left his face.
Other thoughts : The new tour setup requires Mr Braithwaite to become very busy on several occasions moving furniture around to prepare for the next scene. It is a bit disconcerting, at least for me. However, Job Christianson makes it almost invisible, and he also is a wonderful Mr. Braithwaite.
Biggest laugh of the weekend was Jacob’s nutcracker line ; he does this really high pitched squeal and doesn’t even come close to a split. When he turned around to bend over, the man in front of me nearly fell out of his chair laughing.
The stage at the Bob Carr theatre does not allow for leaving the stage into the audience so Billy has to walk to the corner of the stage and wait for Michael on his bike. It lessens the impact of the final scene,
During electricity, the tour Billys are in perfect sync with the music, I noticed with all three this weekend. More so than Broadway or Toronto. Assume this is the work of Kurt Froman.
So went my Billy Elliot "fix" for the moment. Now, I just have to figure out how to arrange another trip to Miami so I can be "delayed" in Fort Lauderdale for a day or two.

[ActingDude17]

Then during intermission, the couple next to me, discussed the lack of a storyline, good 'hum-able' music, and lack of talent from the cast.

This doesn't even have anything to do with the quality of a musical. If it did, Mamma Mia! and Legally Blonde would be the best shows out there and not Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Billy Elliot, etc.

[BEtourfan]

During electricity, the tour Billys are in perfect sync with the music, I noticed with all three this weekend. More so than Broadway or Toronto. Assume this is the work of Kurt Froman.

It is great that the Billys are in sync with the music, but I don't know if Kurt Froman is still with the Tour.

[kport]

During electricity, the tour Billys are in perfect sync with the music, I noticed with all three this weekend. More so than Broadway or Toronto. Assume this is the work of Kurt Froman.

It is great that the Billys are in sync with the music, but I don't know if Kurt Froman is still with the Tour.

He is not listed in the Orlando program...............the resident choreographers are Sean Maurice Kelly, Alison Levenberg and Matthew Prescott.

[ERinVA]

Kurt has been in our Former Cast section of the Tour part of the forum for quite some time.

[Todd]

The stage at the Bob Carr theatre does not allow for leaving the stage into the audience so Billy has to walk to the corner of the stage and wait for Michael on his bike. It lessens the impact of the final scene,

Wow, can't imagine Billy not walking down the aisle at the end. I've always thought this was one of the most creative parts of the staging of the show. I remember the first time I ever saw the show (in London) I was caught off guard to see the lead performer climbing off the stage and making his way into the audience. Don't think I've ever seen that before - except for the occasional exuberant musical numbers in some shows where cast members hop off stage briefly to pump up the crowd, get them to clap their hands, etc.

I assume the small boy doesn't climb up onto the stage at the beginning of the show at the Bob Carr Theater either - another bit of creative staging that I've always loved. Not sure why they couldn't attach a ladder or a ramp or something to allow for this - which I've seen done in some of the other tour cities that don't have a natural spot to come down off the stage.

[kport]

The stage at the Bob Carr theatre does not allow for leaving the stage into the audience so Billy has to walk to the corner of the stage and wait for Michael on his bike. It lessens the impact of the final scene,

Wow, can't imagine Billy not walking down the aisle at the end. I've always thought this was one of the most creative parts of the staging of the show. I remember the first time I ever saw the show (in London) I was caught off guard to see the lead performer climbing off the stage and making his way into the audience. Don't think I've ever seen that before - except for the occasional exuberant musical numbers in some shows where cast members hop off stage briefly to pump up the crowd, get them to clap their hands, etc.

I assume the small boy doesn't climb up onto the stage at the beginning of the show at the Bob Carr Theater either - another bit of creative staging that I've always loved. Not sure why they couldn't attach a ladder or a ramp or something to allow for this - which I've seen done in some of the other tour cities that don't have a natural spot to come down off the stage.[/quote

Your assumption is correct......Small Boy entered from stage right in Orlando.

[kport]

A late review that just popped up. Loved the cast; hated the musical. Typical Orlando jumped-up reviewer.

The reviewer should have been there Sunday when I was. The crowd loved it!!!!

http://www.edgeorlando.com/index.php?ch ... &id=129826

[ERinVA]

I see that the reviewer has moved the story to Ireland, and he also thinks that George was played by Cullen Titmas.