St. Paul Reviews

[porschesrule]

The Ordway sponsored a "Blogger Night" on opening night and the bloggers wrote reviews of the show. Some have been separately posted in this thread, but others have not. At any rate, it's nice to have a list of them in one place. My favorite: “A night at the theatahhhhhh”

http://www.ordway.org/blog/?id=229&utm_ ... +ORDWAY%29

[alexandre]

Yeah so I went into the Ordway tonight, again. I mean, there's nowt else to do and the people around the theatre area were starting to scare me.

Zach was on for his penultimate show and a rousing cheer when his name was mentioned let us know this was home turf. I'd seen him once before in LA and thought that was pretty good but this was at a whole other level!

He's a little taller and sings fully in the lower registers. It's different but clear and tuneful without any cracking.

But oh my, the dancing . The smooth, flowing motions and superb lines in the Dream ballet and the Electricity... just wow
Rapid turns with the arms in fifth, nifty entrechats and my favourite: tours en l'air. Only the great Billy's have these in their repertoire. I almost fell off my seat watching it. Certainly I should've stood and applauded at its end but I didn't want to look like a douche (at least not more than normal). . It was an Electricity so powerful it cured this minor cold virus I've been carrying.
When the hell did he get this good? Ending Billy may have come at the right time if he chooses to focus more intently on dancing.

Now I'm almost sad to be flying out to the Caribbean on Sunday morning. Even thought about cancelling but then again I am flying AA so their pilots will probs cancel for me
If any of you lot are in driving or flying distance of St. Paul, get on down for Sunday night, it will surely be a show for the ages.

Kid's a freakin star!

[jdmag44]

St Paul FRIDAY - Zack -Sam

Had a great third row seat - Zacks family and friends were all around me. I was sooo ready for my 5 in a row .Billython. I must confess that of all the Billy's I have seen I enjoy young Mr Manske the most. Perhaps it's his BIG smile-wonderful facial expressions - or just the unique overall way he takes on this demanding lead role. Knowing that this was going to be his next to last show and feeling the excitement of the crowd that "wildly" cheered when Zacks name was announced, I was feeling especially grateful to this Forum for re-ignighting my enthusiasm for this great show. - I never would have considered ever doing a Billython otherwise.

I thought the first few scenes seemed a bit Lack-luster,then I thought It might be because I have seen the show so many times and that the parts of the show I most look forward to we're yet to come. I started to pay very close attention as I realized there were at least three new Ballet girls, all cute as a button, and wonderfully energetic. I soon became mesmerized by Zach. In Columbus he Really impressed me with his dancing, then in Louisville I saw a taller and [hard to believe] even better dancer. Well last night as I cried my way through his Elictricty I thought Zack will go down as one of my favorite dancers to perform this role. I am not familiar with ballet terms but I refer you to Alexandre,s post. His description was perfect. I had the privledge of meeting alexandre last night. Thanks alexande for my new ballet vocabulary "entrechats" and "tours en l'air" I looked them up that was the magic difference! Zach said in a recent interview that his dancing had improved -IT SURE HAS - A beauty and fluidity similar to that of Kiril.

I have a great seat for Sunday night. I do hope that some other forum members will be at Zach,s final performance. I will do my best to give good review of that special event but I am not very good at writing (Where is Colin when you need him?)

I have a room at the Doubletree and to my amazement this is where the cast is staying. I hope I can control myself.


Joe

[jdmag44]

St Paul. Noah-Jake

Only have a little time between shows. What can I say about Noah that has not already been said? He is such a joy to watch. I saw a new Mr Braithwaite - at least new to me. Patrick Wetzel. I thought he was great. It's a nice role and he did "Shine"

I was also impressed with Jake. he had great comic timing. He stole the scenes that he was in as Michael should!


Joe

[LPOZ]

Sat 13 October - Matinee

Billy - Noah
Michael - Jake
TB/PB - Sam

first review for a long time, but after reading the not so great review from John Olive on the forum on my way to St Paul, I felt strongly to make clear how much I enjoyed Noah's and the overall performance. Noah is a great little actor - so much passion and great facial expressions - that it is hard to believe he has only been doing the role for a few months. His voice is fantastic, especially in Electricity and the Letter. His ballet is good. Maybe not as strong yet as some of the more experienced Billies, but very convincing as Billy who has only just discovered dance. His tapping is AMAZING - especially at the start of Angry Dance. Overall, having just read Olive's review again, I couldn't disagree more on Noah's performance. Like the other Billy's, he carries the show with so much joy and energy, he has a long career ahead of him.

I had not seen the tour since LA and it seems to have improved since then. Difficult to put my finger on why, but it was great to be back. Janet Dickinson is fantastic as Mrs W and after seeing her twice this weekend, she is already up there in my favorite Mrs Ws. Great voice and very strong acting. You can really see her connect with Billy. I have to admit that when I saw Rich Hebert for the first time in Durham, I was not immediately convinced (probably just because he was not Greg Jbara), but he has really made the role his own over the years and he was great. Same with Patti Perkins, who initially over-acted the role a bit, but is now so confident and convincing.

Jake is a great new Michael. Hilarious in Expressing Yourself and whilst the St Paul crowd was a little flat compared to other audiences, he did get a great response at the end of Expressing and his acting was very strong in the Christmas scene - just how you would expect a confused, somewhat vulnerable teenager to be. Still don't think Michaels get enough attention in the curtain call. Samantha has really grown into the role of Debbie as well - funny, frustrated, naughty at all the right places. Sam is very funny as tall boy/posh boy, which is no surprise after seeing him as Michael last night.

Overall, a great return to a great show. Looking forward to seeing the other Billies over the next 2 days.

LPOZ

[jdmag44]

St Paul Sat Eve Ben-Sam

I very much admire Ben and how hard he has worked to get the role of Billy. Those that have seen him knows he has a beautiful voice and has developed awesome dance skills both of which he showed tonight ,but I could not get over his acting. He has always been comfortable on stage and did a great job as Michael, but he has so perfected the role of Billy that I was glued to every word. I will give a Tony for great acting in tonight's performance.
Lucky me. I met him after the show in the elevator at the Hotel. He was sweaty and tired but gracious and I got to give him a few accolades

Joe

[alexandre]

I had the privledge of meeting alexandre last night.

Well now there's something I hear only now and then. And as a newly minted balletomane, you would know I meant the arms were in fifth position, not second

Something we saw again tonight with young Ben who was on fire!!! Just a few words, he seems so intuitive with his actions and reactions; a natural actor. He really should be in movies, you know, playing a lead role in some coming of age drama etc
Although that's not to neglect what wondrous dance ability he possesses, the pirouettes seemed to last forever. I thought about calling an early night tonight but I'm so very glad I changed my mind. It was indeed a very "refreshing" performance and I was mightily impressed.

And WTH, another Aussie in the audience?! The country must be empty now! LPOZ, we should've caught up and talked about... kangaroos and Neighbours etc. Instead I had to hang out with Americans
But really true thanks to those I met up with this trip . As with the touring show, I know we'll meet again some sunny day.

[muck912]

Adding a few things to the other reviews of these shows.

Saturday matinee: Noah/Jake

This was my 50th show!! In the previous 49 shows I've seen lots of Billys do 2-handed cartwheels off of Dad's chair in Electricity. I've seen 2 Billys (Giuseppe & Kylend) do 1-handed cartwheels. But only Noah doesn't do a cartwheel at all. He does a scary looking handspring off of the chair. My guess is this handspring is more dangerous than the now banned piano flip.

During Express Jake Kitchin took a nasty fall off of the stool while trying to get Billy his "finishing touch". Jake got right up, got Billy his lovely sweater, and finished the scene as if nothing happened. What a 10 year old trouper. He never rubbed anything and the fall had to hurt.


Saturday night: Ben/Sam

Sunday night is Zach's final performance. It is sure to be an emotion filled show. But I've noticed in the past that on final weekends that the other Billys put on shows that are more emotional than usual. It stands to reason that these guys would be hyper. The fact that they are seeing a fellow Billy leave always seems to give their performance an edge. This was especially true for Ben tonight. There were tears early on during an emotional Letter scene. His Letter-Reprise was also emotional. Despite the emotion, this was the most beautifully sung rendition of this song I have ever heard, with vibrato throughout.

In my 50 previous shows I've seen 50 guys grab at the letter that Mrs. W was holding in front of them. 49 failed miserably, coming away with a fistful of air. The only guy in 50 shows that pulled his hand back with something in it was Kylend nearly a year ago in Rochester, NY. But Kylend only managed to tear off a corner piece. He promptly gave the piece back to Faith Prince. And the new world record holder is Ben Cook. Tonight he stuck his fist out and it came back full of letter. He got the whole thing! A stunned Janet Dickinson quickly ad-libbed "you're fast". Unlike Kylend, Ben didn't just sheepishly give the letter back to Mrs. W. In fact, Ben pulled the letter away when Janet reached for it (the kid was wired). He finally decided that maybe she should have it and turned the letter over to her with a grin on his face.

There were ooohs and aaahs from the people around me when Ben did his aerials during a beautiful Electricity.

Sam has a unique "just a little bit" bit. He hockey hip checks Billy during his 1st request for a little bit of ballet. This time he did it hard enough to knock Ben into the wall. No boarding penalty was called on Sam.

[muck912]

Sunday evening: Zach/Sam (Zach's final performance)

This is the 6th final show I've been to in the last 14 months. (Marcus, Giuseppe, Joseph, Lex, Ty were the others). But this final show was different from the other 5 in that it occurred in the home town of the retiring Billy.

While waiting in the lobby for the theater doors to open it was easy to see that Zach had a huge number of supporters present. His relatives greeted other relatives. His dance class pals chatted with other dancers. The throng next to me lived in the Manske neighborhood. There were many Twin Cities residents who just came out to support the local boy who made it big.

Other than a couple hundred seats in the second balcony, this huge theater was packed. The only recognition of the special night was when the PA announcer said that "tonight the role of Billy will be played by Zach Manske in his final performance with the production." That announcement was enough to send this pro-Zach crowd into a frenzy. The curtain hadn't even gone up and Zach had his 1st of many thunderous ovations (all ovations accompanied by whooping and hollering by Zach's young friends and relatives).

The whole tenor of the evening was different from other final performances. This seemed to be more of a celebration of Zach. This loving audience kept Zach and his co-stars upbeat throughout the performance.

And what a performance it was. Zach was going out in style. He was at the top of his game. Zach and Sam are a potent Express team. There were a few tears during Mum's Letter but nothing over the top. Angry Dance was violently beautiful. The crowd's loudest cheers were for a beautifully sung and powerfully danced Electricity. During Kings it was nice to see Zach find his parents with his spotlight. His mom waved back at Zach.`

The finality of the event started to get to Zach during the Letter Reprise. He could barely get the words out and it didn't help him that Dead Mum Kat Hennessey's eyes were full of tears too. There was an audible emotional reaction from the crowd in my section. The tissues stayed out for the next scene's "see ya Sam. Yeah, see ya Zach."

The finale went well in keeping with the generally upbeat spirit of the night. The curtain came down and Happy Trails and some celebratory cheers could be heard. Zach is a lucky kid. He finishes a strong Billy career with a marvelous performance at home in front of the friendliest and most appreciative crowd imaginable. It was another great night at the theater.

[porschesrule]

Thank you for your observations about Zach's final performance, muck. For those of us who couldn't be there, it's really great to hear about how special occasions (like 1st and last shows) go and, in this case, it seems it went very well. From what you've written, the audience was liberally sprinkled with his friends and family and, as you've stated, a large group of Minnesotans there to support the local boy. It was a night I'm sure he'll always remember and a fitting way to finish out his year as Billy.