August 2009 - UK Reviews

[Clazzimay]

At last a review! Thank you so much. Can I kindly ask others to leave their opinions on the correct thread, the show is what it is, get over it!

[Billy Whiz]

Thursday 27.Aug.2009 - matinee
Billy: Brad
Michael: Jake

At the end of Express a bulb exploded from the line of the revolving floor lights. I am 99% positive that Brad himself broke it with a kick of his foot while dancing with Michael. You should have seen the look on his face. Total amazement

I will write a review of the show later but at the end of Express last night when the boys are dancing at the front of the stage Brad said to Jake "Watch the lights" It probably went over the heads of 99.99% of the audience but it was very funny for the people in the know.

[Billy Whiz]

Friday, August 28th

Billy: Brad
Michael: Jake
Debbie: Fleur
Mrs W: Joanna Riding
Mr Braithwaite: Shaun Henson
Grandma: Romy Baskerville
Tall Boy: Jonathan Danciger
Small Boy: ?

Wow what a show. I have said this before but the cast keep raising the bar. How high can this bar go I keep asking myself.

Brad is a smiley Billy with wonderful facial expressions. You have to really watch all the little touches that he puts in. When he's putting the "mank" pasty in the bin he turns his nose up as he carries it across the kitchen. At the end when Leslie asks him if he's heard anything yet he gives a typical teenagers look of disgust. There are lots more to spot so next time you see Brad keep your eyes peeled for them. His singing is superb and I don't think he hit a wrong note all night. Wonderful dancing. Dream Ballet with Barnaby was excellent but the piece do resistance was Electricity. When you consider that Brad had never done ballet until he started training to be Billy makes it all the more remarkable. His face lit up at the end and the audience gave him a long and well deserved round of applause.

Jake is so funny as Michael and I love the way he uses his glasses as part of his act. He takes them off and cleans them at regular intervals - holding them up to the lights each time to see that they are clean. I notice that he is using the skirt that Jonty used to wear. The audience really laugh when he struggles to put it on.

Fleur as Debbie. She is a Debbie with attitude. She is only small but my word can she make a noise. I had two girls in Fleur’s dance class sat next to me last night and it was a treat to see how they reacted when she first came on stage. It was their first time at the show and they were so excited. They were waving at Fleur trying to get her attention but ever the professional she carried on with the job in hand.

And so to Joanna Riding. I saw Joanna on her first night on December 1st and made no secret that I was far from impressed. After last night’s show I have to take it back. She was excellent. Joanna is a harder Mrs W than Kate but she has an excellent voice and her dancing was great.

I commented in another post that I really like Shaun Henson as Mr Braithwaite. It was like having Alex back as Shaun received applause for doing the splits. I also like when he appears to hurt his leg the way he pulls his shorts out of the crack in his backside. The audience also loved it. Another nice touch to look out for is when he takes off the second of his 2 shirts he sniffs his underarm and pulls a face as if it stinks - which, to be fair, it probably does.

Romy is wonderful and if Ann ever decides to leaves, heaven forbid, then she will make a worthy full time Grandma.

The ballet girls were, as usual, excellent. The pause when Mrs W says we only have 7 and a half months to rehearse actually got a laugh last night. This is the first time in the 3 shows that I have seen it that it has. It is a good addition that always went down well in NYC. It’s so good to see the girls show how good they really are in the finale after acting to be so inept. Well done to all of you.

I saw Jonathan Danciger for the third time this trip. He was not supposed to be on Thursday but was filling in. He is an excellent Tall Boy and I like the way he walks to avoid getting close to Billy when they go through the door for the audition scene. If he is on today as well then he won’t need any rocking when he goes to bed tonight.

I have a couple of questions that somebody may be able to answer. Firstly in the kitchen next to the kettle a bag of some description has appeared. I have never seen it before Thursdays show. Has anybody any idea of its significance? Secondly what has happened to the lid on the bin? Another of life's great mysteries. Answers please in the "Changes I have noticed thread".

All in all a wonderful show. Two shows to see today including Trevor’s final one. Hopefully some pictures later today or tomorrow.

Billy Whiz signing off.

[JohnH]

Great reviews everyone! Keep 'em coming.

[tolle]

Big thank you to Billy Whiz for giving the ballet girls nice mention in your review.

I know as a friend of a Ballet Mum that the girls put such effort and hard work in with so much joy.They do read the reviews here and always looking out to see how well audience have enjoyed the show .
Looking forward to seeing the show in again few weeks.

[iht]

Friday, August 28th

Billy: Brad
Michael: Jake
Debbie: Fleur
Mrs W: Joanna Riding
Mr Braithwaite: Shaun Henson
Grandma: Romy Baskerville
Tall Boy: Jonathan Danciger
Small Boy: ?

Wow what a show. I have said this before but the cast keep raising the bar. How high can this bar go I keep asking myself.

Brad is a smiley Billy with wonderful facial expressions. You have to really watch all the little touches that he puts in. When he's putting the "mank" pasty in the bin he turns his nose up as he carries it across the kitchen. At the end when Leslie asks him if he's heard anything yet he gives a typical teenagers look of disgust. There are lots more to spot so next time you see Brad keep your eyes peeled for them. His singing is superb and I don't think he hit a wrong note all night. Wonderful dancing. Dream Ballet with Barnaby was excellent but the piece do resistance was Electricity. When you consider that Brad had never done ballet until he started training to be Billy makes it all the more remarkable. His face lit up at the end and the audience gave him a long and well deserved round of applause.

I also noticed something little that Brad does when I saw the Thursday matinee just gone. When 'Dad' goes to console him in the RBS letter scene, when he puts his arm on Brad's shoulder Brad mouths 'Get off' and wriggles away. Is this a unique thing to Brad (mouthing 'get off') or do all the Billy's do this?

[JohnH]

Saturday 29th Evening show

Billy - Tanner Pflueger
Michael - Jake Pratt
Debbie - Fleur Houdijk

George - Trevor Fox
Dad - Joe Caffrey
Tony - Craig Gallivan
Older Billy - Barnaby Meredith
Mrs W. - Joanna Riding
Gran - Romy Baskerville
Mr B - Shaun Henson

Sorry everyone, its not a review but I had to post about a funny incident that happened at tonight's show!

Our very own Gallery Moderator, Billy Whiz was the audience member that Trevor picked on at the start of the second half. When BW answered that he was enjoying the show, Trevor replied 'That guy probably knows the show better than I do'

[pexcornel]

Saturday 29.Aug.2009 - matinee
Billy: Tom
Michael: Connor
Debbie: Francesca

My 4th show in a row, this was the first time I saw Tom as Billy.
Funnily enough, I already saw Tom twice as Michael and I already knew of his great qualities as an actor.

Let's imagine a sinusoidal graph: up and down and up and down high to happy, low to sad.
Well his acting is as smooth as that. There are infinite points between those ups and downs and he covers them ALL.

No line is said without acting, without adding some of his touch. Be it words, smiles, puzzled looks and oh.... the tears.

His dancing is awesome and he is the fastest Billy I ever saw. He was up on the piano in no time on Born to Boogie. He is also precise and spot on, his balance is good. He seemed to fly on Electricity, being so fast in his turns and running around so fast on the stage.

Well. He did fly. His wall flip was so perfect that I could actually take a mental picture with my eyes and it stays right there in my brain forever. A ball of fire, that's what I saw.

I never noticed this before yesterday with Brad, when Ms. Wilkinson teaches the pirouette, Debbie looks only at Billy, ah and what a look Well, today was even funnier because Tom "felt the look" and slowly turned his head towards her, one time, then another.

I am not insisting on anyone else than Connor. I like his Michael, he totally stole the show from Tom on Express.

Everything else smoother than ever.

[pexcornel]

Saturday 29.Aug.2009 - evening
Billy: Tanner
Michael: Jake
Debbie: Fleur

It's no secret that the main reason I like Billy Elliot the Musical is the dancing. My favorite moments are Electricity, Born to Boogie, Swan Lake, Finale, Angry Dance and Solidarity. That means, all the dancing parts.

Well, tonight was Tanner's night folks and I was looking forward to this night since the last time I saw him.

He danced so perfect and with such grace and power that I am again lost for words. This kid is one in a million and there is nothing I can say to make justice to his dance. He must be seen. This kid must be seen now, and in the future. I want so bad to see this huge talent let's say 10 years from now, I want so bad to see this kid in the future as a success. I am rooting for him to become one of the greatest.

Hey Tanner, with that half smile of yours , you are a dancing star. I hope millions and millions of simple people like me will have the privilege to be mesmerized by your dancing, as I am.

Well. I know this was last night for Trevor, who is irreplaceable really. In the matinee he said the Newcastle joke was at his best in all 4 years that he done it. Because there were those girls from the North cheering and then picked on the lesbian joke And then Tom picked up the number 2. They never picked up two. Am I right? Trevor was cracking up

In the evening he picked on BillyWizz He said that he knows the lines better than he does witch is probably true Then when Tanner picked the number from the bucket, he added "And for the last time..." quite sad

Jake as Michael is hilarious. He is original, different, and I don't know if they read the forum but they used the glasses even more.

Fleur as Debbie is perfect. She delivers this screams and oh.. her sharp looks. I love her interpretation of Debbie.

Being the last night for Trevor, I had the privilege to see Stephen Daldry on stage today. This was like a bonus for me after 5 shows in a row. My friends think that "I'm mental" for doing this.

I have a funny story too, from tonight. Right next to me was this huge person over 40, who before the beginning of the show played cards on his NINTENDO DS Well this person was falling asleep all the time in the show. You would think, The Letter? NO
He felt asleep during Born to Boogie and Angry Dance too. People siting in front of me (the boy with the ticket, you know who you are ) he can confirm that this person WAS SNORING and I had to kick his feet all the time. This was a major annoyance for me. So I hope I will never see you again in my life sleepy head

To finish all this in a positive note. I want to thank BillyWizz, JohnH, patc and every member of the forum that exchanged words with me this past 3 days. I am amazed at your dedication for the show, what you are doing, the forum, the pictures and everything. HUGS everybody, I hope to see you soon

Lights out.
Pex

[ERinVA]

Darn it, pex! I am so jealous! But I know you had a wonderful time tonight, not to mention the other performances you have seen on this trip. Thanks for a great review.