Los Angeles Reviews

[porschesrule]

A place for reviews from the Tour stop in Los Angeles.

[cglaid]

Guess I'll be the first. Here are a few thoughts from tonight.

I saw this tour in SF with Kylend as Billy. He's the only tour Billy I've seen. He was on again tonight. I was not disappointed in the slightest to see his name on the board. Plus, Jacob was on as Michael. I had seen Griffin the last time.

Jacob is a riot. A born performer. A true talent. And an all-around wonderful Michael. He had the crowd roaring with laughter. He is so cheeky. And such a natural. Absolutely delightful. Can't use enough adjectives. Hard to believe he didn't know how to dance before the show. He looks completely at ease. And so confident. So happy to have seen him.

Kylend is better than ever. His Letter was sung beautifully. Take Me Up too. They changed the key and the pacing in Deep Into the Ground. He had great chemistry with the entire cast. His dancing is top-notch. I don't think he had a one-handed cartwheel off the chair in the beginning when I saw him in SF. Some of his choreography was sped up too, adding more complexity to the routine. Kylend plays Billy beautifully.

Leah Hocking is great as Mrs. W. Her singing voice is crisp and wonderful. And she had a great rapport with Kylend.

The ballet girls were hilarious. I think I recognized all of them from the previous run, but maybe there were less of them? I might be wrong, but there seemed to be fewer BG's. Samantha Cutler was great as Debbie. Very sassy. Great delivery.

Dead Mum seemed to strain a bit on the higher notes. She was just okay.

And Rich as Jackie was all-around well developed. He seems very at ease in the role and plays it quite nicely. Lots of emotions, and a great range. I enjoyed him. The guy playing Tony just seemed far too old for the part. Almost as if he rivaled Rich's age. Was a bit weird.

All-in-all, the tour is in great shape. I didn't find the scaled down aspects distracting or disappointing. It ran smoothly and was a wonderful night at the Pantages. They truly did start at 8 pm on the dot. Was impressed. Lots of latecomers which was annoying. Looked like a pretty full crowd too.

Fun fact: sitting three rows behind me, none other than Tessa Netting.

Edited to add: Jeremy Zorek is just adorable!

[porschesrule]

Thanks for the great review, cglaid.

All-in-all, the tour is in great shape. I didn't find the scaled down aspects distracting or disappointing. It ran smoothly and was a wonderful night at the Pantages.

I was just reading an interview by Rich Hebert. In responding to a question about the show being scaled down from the Broadway version he says:

"When Stephen Daldry, who directed the 2000 film, came and saw this scaled down production, he said 'This is the way it was supposed to be. This is the best production of the show I've seen.' You see the community on stage because we're moving things around ourselves. It creates much more of a community effect, which is what the show is really all about."

[CJ-Rochester]

Nice review cglaid.

Fun fact: sitting three rows behind me, none other than Tessa Netting.

Last night Tessa tweeted from the theater:

@tessanetting
WE GOT IN! FINALLY seeing Billy Elliot with @kevinkevink after getting detained at the Rose and Crown...

KYLEND is on for BILLY. MY GORGEOUS. I remember when he was on as Tall Boy and we were screaming Harry Potter spells during Pit Gates

[Billy Whiz]

Thanks for the great review cglaid.

I must try and catch the tour next time I get to the other side of the pond

[porschesrule]

The blog "Los Angeles Travel" has a positive review of the Tour's stop in LA:

http://golosangeles.about.com/b/2012/04 ... um=twitter

[porschesrule]

A brief, but positive review from the blog "lapicturesque":

http://lapicturesque.wordpress.com/2012 ... s-theatre/

[inspired]

The guy playing Tony just seemed far too old for the part. Almost as if he rivaled Rich's age. Was a bit weird.

In a recent radio interview with Rich and Cullen posted on this forum (NPR? sorry, I can't remember which) Cullen said he was in his early 40s, I believe.

[Todd]

The guy playing Tony just seemed far too old for the part. Almost as if he rivaled Rich's age. Was a bit weird.

In a recent radio interview with Rich and Cullen posted on this forum (NPR? sorry, I can't remember which) Cullen said he was in his early 40s, I believe.

That's about the age I thought he looked to be when I saw him in St. Louis. With my suspicions now confirmed, it makes you wonder why he was cast for the part. There are plenty of age-appropriate actors out there who could have played the role of Tony more convincingly, in my opinion.

[ERinVA]

Will Chase in the Broadway show was also well beyond the age for Tony, but I thought he was good anyway. I haven't seen Cullen in the role, so I will reserve judgment until I see him if he is still with the tour when it comes to Richmond next year.