Washington, D.C. Reviews

[Brad]

KiwiT - great reading your reviews and good on you for keeping up the southern hemispheres support of the show

[CJ-Rochester]

Ty also does most of his spins/pirouettes anticlockwise which is unusual but a nice variation.

Ty and Jacob Clemente are the only Billys who I have seen spin counterclockwise. Jacob is left-handed. I wanted to ask Ty if he is as well, but never had the chance at the stage door in Rochester. I am not even sure if being right or left handed has anything to do with which direction a dancer prefers to spin. Anyone else know?

[muck912]

Ty also does most of his spins/pirouettes anticlockwise which is unusual but a nice variation.

Ty and Jacob Clemente are the only Billys who I have seen spin counterclockwise. Jacob is left-handed. I wanted to ask Ty if he is as well, but never had the chance at the stage door in Rochester. I am not even sure if being right or left handed has anything to do with which direction a dancer prefers to spin. Anyone else know?

My daughter got Ty's autograph in Toronto. He is left-handed.

[KiwiT]

Thu 12th Jan
Kylend/Jacob/Ty

Apart from going to the Broadway close this trip was a mission to try and catch a Kylend performance and break my Kylend jinx. I had seen the tour thirteen times before and each time I seemed to just miss him so I was beginning to think I was jinxed! Indeed he had even been scheduled to do the closing show in Houston but for some reason Daniel took his place.

I had seen Kylend as tall boy in New York and there was something about his acting performance which told me he would make an excellent Billy. So ever since I have been hoping to see him in that role but to date I had been out of luck. Seeing him play tall boy again in Washington on Wednesday merely confirmed my previous view.

So I turned up to the theatre last night and went to look a the board as he had told me at the stage door the previous day that he was due to perform. For one gut wrenching moment I thought my luck was out again as he was not showing as Billy. Thankfully I realised that the board had not yet been updated and some time later a lady came out to change it. Billy - Kylend, Michael - Jacob, Tall/Posh boy - Ty. "Yessss" I exclaimed and judging by the expressions on faces around me obviously a bit louder than intended! Still I could not quite believe it and tried to contain my excitement until I actually saw him on the stage. When dad eventually brought him onto the stage it was a huge relief and I could relax and thoroughly enjoy the show.

Kylend has a unique take on the role which I think is just superb! Maria described this as a mix of having a tough exterior and a soft centre which just works. Indeed it does as he is a totally believable Billy with a slightly cheeky side to him which in some ways reminds me of my first Billy Lochie Denholm. Fantastic!

In the boxing scene all the BillYs have their own way to put Michael off and they are all terrific. However I particularly like the way Kylend covers his groin with the boxing glove before doing his pelvic thrusts - a minor thing but typical of Kylend's incredible attention to detail.

He has a unique toilet scene and when considering Debbie's offer his eyes lit up and a wicked wry smile crossed his face at the prospect, before vanishing as he thought he better not accept. Very clever and just one example of his amazing acting skills.

Kylend and Jacob in Express were terrific together and as usual they brought the house down. He has a strong AD, and although probably not the most aggressive I have seen, it was still impressive and most of the audience around me went into the intermission in awe of his talent.

The second act started with Joel Blum playing George in his own brilliant way. However he did not mange the hat trick the first time so small boy made a "loser" sign. His second attempt was fine though. Good on him for having the courage to try this.

In Dream Ballet we get to see Kylends great smile as he soared through the air while his Electricity was magic. Kylend doesn't just sing the song he thinks about what he is saying and acts it out with pauses for effect in all the right places. He has a pretty fine singing voice too.

Another highlight for me was the very emotional letter reprise and he left the stage going up the aisle with very real tears streaming down his cheeks. I always like a very emotional Letter or reprise as for me it makes for a fantastic show.

All in all an awesome performance, and while the memory of some performances gradually fade over time, I am sure that I will remember this one for ever. Thank you Kylend.

Mission accomplished and the jinx is gone! The only trouble now is that once is never enough and I am itching to see him perform as Billy again. That may or may not work out but if it doesn't at least I have managed to see Kylend's Billy once and what a performance it was!

[BEtourfan]

Thu 12th Jan
Kylend/Jacob/Ty

Apart from going to the Broadway close this trip was a mission to try and catch a Kylend performance and break my Kylend jinx. I had seen the tour thirteen times before and each time I seemed to just miss him so I was beginning to think I was jinxed! Indeed he had even been scheduled to do the closing show in Houston but for some reason Daniel took his place.

I had seen Kylend as tall boy in New York and there was something about his acting performance which told me he would make an excellent Billy. So ever since I have been hoping to see him in that role but to date I had been out of luck. Seeing him play tall boy again in Washington on Wednesday merely confirmed my previous view.

So I turned up to the theatre last night and went to look a the board as he had told me at the stage door the previous day that he was due to perform. For one gut wrenching moment I thought my luck was out again as he was not showing as Billy. Thankfully I realised that the board had not yet been updated and some time later a lady came out to change it. Billy - Kylend, Michael - Jacob, Tall/Posh boy - Ty. "Yessss" I exclaimed and judging by the expressions on faces around me obviously a bit louder than intended! Still I could not quite believe it and tried to contain my excitement until I actually saw him on the stage. When dad eventually brought him onto the stage it was a huge relief and I could relax and thoroughly enjoy the show.

Kylend has a unique take on the role which I think is just superb! Maria described this as a mix of having a tough exterior and a soft centre which just works. Indeed it does as he is a totally believable Billy with a slightly cheeky side to him which in some ways reminds me of my first Billy Lochie Denholm. Fantastic!

In the boxing scene all the BillYs have their own way to put Michael off and they are all terrific. However I particularly like the way Kylend covers his groin with the boxing glove before doing his pelvic thrusts - a minor thing but typical of Kylend's incredible attention to detail.

He has a unique toilet scene and when considering Debbie's offer his eyes lit up and a wicked wry smile crossed his face at the prospect, before vanishing as he thought he better not accept. Very clever and just one example of his amazing acting skills.

Kylend and Jacob in Express were terrific together and as usual they brought the house down. He has a strong AD, and although probably not the most aggressive I have seen, it was still impressive and most of the audience around me went into the intermission in awe of his talent.

The second act started with Joel Blum playing George in his own brilliant way. However he did not mange the hat trick the first time so small boy made a "loser" sign. His second attempt was fine though. Good on him for having the courage to try this.

In Dream Ballet we get to see Kylends great smile as he soared through the air while his Electricity was magic. Kylend doesn't just sing the song he thinks about what he is saying and acts it out with pauses for effect in all the right places. He has a pretty fine singing voice too.

Another highlight for me was the very emotional letter reprise and he left the stage going up the aisle with very real tears streaming down his cheeks. I always like a very emotional Letter or reprise as for me it makes for a fantastic show.

All in all an awesome performance, and while the memory of some performances gradually fade over time, I am sure that I will remember this one for ever. Thank you Kylend.

Mission accomplished and the jinx is gone! The only trouble now is that once is never enough and I am itching to see him perform as Billy again. That may or may not work out but if it doesn't at least I have managed to see Kylend's Billy once and what a performance it was!

Great review! By the way, nearly all the remaining shows have been sold out ... terrific news at the end of a very successful month-long run in Washington.

[porschesrule]

Great review! By the way, nearly all the remaining shows have been sold out ... terrific news at the end of a very successful month-long run in Washington.

I totally agree. Great review Tim. Thanks for sharing it!

And I also agree with BEtourfan -- that's wonderful news about the show being almost sold out for the rest of this weekend. Go Tour!!

[ERinVA]

Excellent news indeed!

Enjoyed your review, Tim.

[dongringo]

Thanks for your review of Kylend's performance KiwiT. It's been nine months since seeing Kylend perform the role and I still can't get it out of my mind. I just love his take on the role.

[BEtourfan]

Thanks for your review of Kylend's performance BEtourfan. It's been nine months since seeing Kylend perform the role and I still can't get it out of my mind. I just love his take on the role.

I can't take credit for the review but I can attest to Kylend's great talent having seen a number of his wonderful performances over the past year.

[dongringo]

Thanks for your review of Kylend's performance BEtourfan. It's been nine months since seeing Kylend perform the role and I still can't get it out of my mind. I just love his take on the role.

I can't take credit for the review but I can attest to Kylend's great talent having seen a number of his wonderful performances over the past year.

Oops! Edited to credit KiwiT.