John Peter Viernes--Billy: Chicago, Toronto and US Tour

[ERinVA]

That's an excellent article. In every interview with JP that I have read, and in his video blogs, he comes across to me as mature, thoughtful and smart as a whip while delivering everything with a sense of humor. I think he is going to go really far in this world.

[porschesrule]

I totally agree with you Ellen. J.P. has a very bright future.

[muck912]

JP's 2nd anniversary as a Billy is upcoming in Columbus on March 20. It was in Chicago on March 20, 2010 that JP did his 1st show. How many other Billys have lasted for 2 years? I'm guessing only Trent, and maybe Michael Dameski. Porschesrule probably has the answer at his fingertip.

[CJ-Rochester]

Along with Trent and Michael, I believe the only other Billy to pass the two year mark was Dayton. JP will soon join a very exclusive club.

[cws8998]

I'm delighted to say I was present at JP's debut at the Oriental in Chicago and his performances now, close to two years down the road, are as precious to me today as was that performance, March 20th 2010. Can't wait to celebrate his anniversary in Columbus three weeks hence. He is an intense/incredible performer of extraordinary ability...warm, humorous and generiously accomodating off stage. Two years at the helm...wow, what a complete pro!

Colin

[porschesrule]

Along with Trent and Michael, I believe the only other Billy to pass the two year mark was Dayton. JP will soon join a very exclusive club.

I believe this is correct.

A reminder that I've compiled a good source of information for performance dates here: http://www.theskykid.com/billy-elliot-m ... formation/

[accessmenj]

I believe that the other two-year Billys had longer breaks between their engagements. JP was almost a continuous performer.

[ERinVA]

Trent's actual break from one cast to the other was quite short. He left the London show on June 8, 2008, and began rehearsals with the Broadway cast at the end of June. Of course, in order to get the Broadway show up and running, the rehearsal period was longer than it usually takes to train and "put in" a new Billy because it was an entirely different production from the ground up. The first preview had been scheduled for September 29, but it actually did not happen until October 4. All in all, Trent worked with BETM almost continuously from when he started training in London in September of 2007 all the way through to his final show on Broadway on March 7, 2010.

[porschesrule]

It also should be noted that while Dean-Charles Chapman didn't quite make the two year mark as Billy (30-Nov-2009 to 12-Nov-2011), his service in the role was continuous, with no breaks of any kind.

[ERinVA]

There are so many different ways to look at the time each boy spends in the show from start to finish. For example, once a boy is chosen to be a Billy and put under contract, he still has about 2-3 months of training/rehearsal before he goes into the show, so if you count months/days under contract, that's one way of doing it. Another is months/days spent performing the role once he has made his debut. But of course the most common way is the total number of performances he does while in the show. Since some Billys have alternated between Tall Boy and Billy, or performed as Michael or Tall Boy before becoming Billy (or even, as in Dean's case, Small Boy), you might throw all those performances into the mix as well. Dean did not immediately become a Michael, by the way, after leaving the show as Small Boy, so do you count the interim time or not? So many different ways...

But it's for sure that JP is up there among the longest serving Billys, so we probably should get back to talking about him.