July 2009 Reviews - NYC

[SatinandLace]

How does Daniel come across as Will's dad?

[Todd]

On an unrelated issue, I also want to say that the more I witness small boy yelling "w****r as he exits the boxing scene, the more I'm convinced that expression just does not work on Broadway. I never hear more than a few chuckles from the audience. I think the reason is that the expression isn't that common in The U.S. Even if the audience knows what the word refers to, they just don't see the humor in a little kid yelling it to an adult. The production needs to come up with something American audiences can readily identify with to add comedy to the boy's exit.

Interesting that you mention this, as I had noticed it before too and never thought to comment on it. Having seen the show 4 times in London last month and hearing that line get a huge roar of laughter each time, I couldn't help but notice the difference in how the audience reacted to it in New York.

Didn't they change the line that Mr. Braithwaite says to Billy ("You look like a right wa**** to me, son") to something else in New York ? I was thinking the new line didn't get much of a laugh either, as whatever he says comes across as kind of a random, mean comment to Billy. Maybe something like, "I'd stick to boxing if I were you" might work better.

[johnnyc]

Didn't they change the line that Mr. Braithwaite says to Billy ("You look like a right wa**** to me, son") to something else in New York ? I was thinking it didn't get too big of a laugh either, as whatever he says comes across as kind of a random, mean comment to Billy. Maybe something like, "I'd stick to boxing if I were you" might work better.

Now, Debbie answers Billy's question. She says "you look like a d**k h**d to me." This one does get the laughter. Interestingly, later on, at the beginning of Born to Boogie, Mr Braithwaite still answers Billy's "what's he doing here?" with the original line, "you're going to need something to dance to, you little w****r!" And this usage of the comment does get a good audience response. Go figure.

[johnnyc]

How does Daniel come across as Will's dad?

I've seen Daniel in the role four times now, and I'm getting comfortable with him as both Tony's and Billy's dad. he is rather different from Greg, of course, but still quite believable. He's not quite as belligerent as Greg.

[johnnyc]

OK, I said I wouldn't do a review of show #4, (Thursday) but I do have to say it was interesting. Surprisingly, Kiril was Billy again, and gave an even better performance than last night, if that's possible. But the surprise of the evening was tall/posh boy being played by...TRENT KOWALIK! I loved his take on the part. Trent had the posh accent really nailed, and it was funny seeing him run off blubbering after being socked a good one by Kiril.

By the way, Kiril's mom told me when he was scheduled to be on next, but is it OK to pass that information on?

Mitchell is still shown on the board in the lobby as a small boy. This board is made up of sections that can easily be changed. Still no sign of him though, nor of the new small boy that was introduced on a playbill insert several days ago. Oh, and Keean was Michael tonight. We were treated to three Billys at the stage door after the show. Kiril and Trent, of course, but Tommy was there as well. I guess he was the backup Billy.

[phoebe]

I absolutely adore these daily reviews! Sounds like Kiril is having a terrific week!

Is David A. on vacation this week? He hasn't been in the rotation since last Thursday.

[johnnyc]

July 24 - Trent and David B. My only comment on this performance is that the rope jumping bit failed miserably - again. Just as Trent and Haydn started jumping together the rope got tangled with both of them and resulted in an awkward pause in the action. When, oh when, will the company eliminate the rope bit?

[Todd]

July 24 - Trent and David B. My only comment on this performance is that the rope jumping bit failed miserably - again. Just as Trent and Haydn started jumping together the rope got tangled with both of them and resulted in an awkward pause in the action. When, oh when, will the company eliminate the rope bit?

Sounds pretty identical to what happened at the July 2 show. When they got tangled up, Trent stepped away from the rope and kind of made a gesture like, "This is impossible." Has anyone ever seen the rope bit actually work ?

[SatinandLace]

I've seen it work a few times. It's always a surprise when it does, though.

[phoebe]

See my review of the July 7 show, above, in this topic. David Alvarez totally nailed it that night.