Washington, D.C. Reviews

[mrmikerocks]

Nice review. Thanks for sharing it. Also I see it's your first post so welcome to the forum.

[CJ-Rochester]

Thanks for posting that great review waltb, and welcome to the forum!
Just one note: Mr. Braithwaite always gets up immediately after his cartwheel, and goes back to hold the piano for Billy's flip.

[porschesrule]

A well done first review on the Forum, waltb. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. We don't, on average, see as many reviews for the tour as for the other productions of the show, so I, for one, am very appreciative of your effort.

[dongringo]

Thank you waltb for your excellent review!

[ERinVA]

Thanks for the review waltb, and welcome.

[KiwiT]

Tues 10th Jan
JP/Ben/Lex/Jeremy

It was with more than an little anxiety that I went along to the show on Tuesday evening. Coming only two days after that phenomenal closing show on Broadway - the show to end all shows, I was worried whether I would still be passionate and fired up for the tour production or, for that matter for any other. Perhaps I should have stopped with the Broadway close which also happened to be my 100th - I can't imagine a better way to celebrate that milestone. My head is still spinning aft that among experience.

Also this would be the first time that I had seen the tour since it had been re-jigged, would I mind the changes? Obviously there would be no comparison between the two so I resolved to try and put the closing show out of mind as best I could whilst watching the tour. After all they are all very different productions and that was undoubtedly a one off. Besides I was on a mission (of which more later in the week if I succeed!)

Once again the tour is in a ginormous theatre. It is undoubtedly a wonderful place but I do prefer the more intimate theatres where you can get close to the stage. Still at least I had a ticket in the second row so I was close to all the action.

There was so much to take in with all the changes, the cast moving the set around and in this performance there was the added element of two excellent people using sign language. As I have a family member who is deaf this was fascinating to me - I have now learnt how to say "dick head" in sign language!

Anyway this all helped me to put the Broadway close out of my mind although I must confess the were two occasions where failed. Firstly when dad burst onto the stage through the back door saying "what the ........ Hell's going on here" I could not help but think about that brilliant transition in NY with all four Billys and in the toilet scene I was longing for Peter to come on alongside JP to give a double act response to Debbie!

Anyway back to the show. JP is always a terrific Billy with amazing dance skills and a great personality too. I think his acting skills have developed quite a bit since Toronto days too. His skipping in Born to Boogie was spot on, very fast and with two crossovers perfectly executed. I am still not convinced by the skipping ropes as it does not always come off but when it does, as in this case, it is really spectacular.

Absolutely fantastic to see Ben as Michael again. I saw him as Tall both and nice as Michael in New York and was really impressed with his interpretation. He really thinks about what he is doing and saying and it shows in his performances. There are a handful of youngsters in the various productions who stand out for their acting skills and Ben is certainly one of the best. I really hope I get to see him play Billy one day as I suspect he will have a unique take on the too!

I am still getting used to seeing a Billy as Tall/Posh boy but Lex is great in both. I particularly like his Posh boy as he really looks and acts the part.

I don't think I have seen Samantha's Debbie before but I think she is excellent, Just the right age, size and attitude.

There is certainly no shortage of talent in the adult cast either and in many cases I prefer their interpretations to some of those on Broadway. They still manage to get the laughs and applause but do not overplay their parts. Rich Herbert is a terrific Dad but if I was being extremely picky I would change two very minor things. Firstly I like the wave that dad does after he is leaving at the end of Electricity on Broadway and secondly when he figures out the the letter says "Esquire" rather than "is queer" I prefer the London way when dad actually looks down at the letter before figuring it out but, hey these are very minor personal viewpoints and in all other respects he is fantastic.

We had an understudy Mrs W in Susan Haefner. Now for me there are only really two Mrs Wilkinsons, Genevieve and Kate, but Susan is pretty darn good too. It is hard to accept that she is an understudy as she does such a great job.

Job Christensen is the understudy Mr B and did a very credible job (excuse the pun) but I got the feeling that his heart was not completely in the role. I am probably biased though as I can't wait to see Thommie Retter's version again!

So what about the changes and the cast moving the set and props around? To be honest I really did not mind most of them or notice the moving around after a while. The exceptions - seeing the table and chairs on stage at the start of Angry Dance seemed a bit odd but it does sort of make sense and I will probably get used to it in time. I don't mind the small dresses in Express but the jury is still out on those faces! However the one thing which feels wrong to me is the bedroom as it is too low to be believable - only a small boy could stand up underneath it, indeed Billy has to duck to go under it too. I presume this is for safety reasons as Billy is often going up or down the stars whilst it is being moved around but it is a shame as everything else is completely credible.

So am I still passionate about the tour? Absolutely, it is still a wonderful show and I think it is now better than ever.

Thank you JP, Ben, Lex and co for keeping that fire burning. I will be back later this week!

[CJ-Rochester]

Thanks for posting that great review KiwiT. Also congrats on reaching your 100th show! You are one of three super-fans who I heard reached this level on the same weekend. I know it is not a contest, but still is quite an achievement.

[maria]

Thanks for the great reviews waltb & KiwiT

I was there for the matinee on Wednesday with Ty and Jacob. But mostly I was totally disappointed Thommie was not yet on as Mr. B. That said, it was a terrific show, and I have grown quite fond of Ty as Billy. We once again had the understudy Ms. W., and I think she is fabulous. She has a wonderful rapport with the boys. Only my second time seeing Jacob as Michael and the kid is a delight! Truly milks the role and he and Ty were having a ball during Express. Wonderful vulnerability during the winter scene. As waltb mentioned above, Ty has a lovely singing voice, and his dancing and acting are also top notch.

I have to admit I had apprehension similar to KiwiT's about seeing the show so soon again after the most unforgettable weekend experience culminating in that final show in NYC. But like him I managed to get right back into the magic of the show, and as I watched this show go down, fond memories of the NYC finale came back to me, particularly the Billy transition scenes.

I have now completely lost track of the furniture moves - they were very distracting for my first DC show, but the more I see the show, the less I notice them, so I think that means they work well and are mostly seamless. Except for the odd carrying off pans and trash cans here and there!

[KiwiT]

Wed 11th Jan matinee
Ty/Jacob/Kylend

Thanks for the great reviews waltB and Maria. I totally agree with all your comments. Ty is another terrific find as Billy - Canada certainly produces some amazing Billys.

Unfortunately I arrived in Toronto just too late to catch Ty's final performance there so I am delighted that I got a second chance to see him on the tour. His singing is some of the most beautiful I have heard. I know he is fond of Les Mis and I can just imagine him as Gavroche singing Little People. Magic. For now though let's just keep him as Billy!

His long thin legs accentuate the ballet moves to great effect. I don't know much about ballet but his dancing looks great too me. Ty also does most of his spins/pirouettes anticlockwise which is unusual but a nice variation.

Jacob is a very different Michael from Ben but they are both brilliant. He initially dropped the beer can in the winter scene but with a deft big of juggling managed to catch it before it fell to the floor. Nice work Jacob! I love the way he adjusts the tutu on his backside with a groaning noise and milks every one of his scenes.

Kylend is a terrific Tall Boy but I will save my comments on that for later in the week.

[KiwiT]

Wed 11th Jan Eve
Lex/Ben/JP

There is not a huge amount I can add to my previous comments on Lex but I will repeat them as I think he tends to get far less credit than he deserves.

Lex may be a Street Billy but his ballet still seems pretty impressive to me. His acting is excellent although I would like him to smile a little bit more, he has a ferocious AD, beautiful dream ballet and of course that unique Electricity. It is a shame that he does not do a wall flip anymore as that really would be the icing on the cake but even without that I always enjoy this different Electricity.

Joel Blum is absolutely superb as George. I love everything he does from the unusual hat tricks at the start of Act 2 to his mimicking of Billy when congratulating him for getting in to ballet school. I noticed that he does a different mimick for Lex than usual presumably to reflect his street style rather than ballet. I had not seen that before and it was very very amusing.

Yet another brilliant performance from Ben as Michael. I could watch this lad perform forever!