Thu Jul 30, 2009 8pm -
Billy - Trent,
Michael - David B,
Tall Boy - Keean,
Small Boy - Mitchell,
+ understudies for Grandma, Mum
This was my fourth time at the show, and the second time seeing Trent. The Thursday night audience was much more lively than Wednesday's matinee.
Trent was in top form tonight! From the moment he first sang his voice was sweet, clear, and crisp. He still has the high-pitched 'boy voice' for which the music is written. In the boxing class I thought Trent, David, and Joel Hatch (as George) had especially good comic timing.
As this was my fourth time I found myself noticing numerous smaller aspects of the show that I previously hadn't paid much attention to. Haydn was on fire during "Shine", as she always is. This time I watched the ballet girls more and enjoyed the expressions on their faces. During intermission someone sitting near me mentioned the same thing, ie: the girls are a lot of fun to watch. Two new ballet girls have joined the cast.
Merle Louise (understudy for Grandma) isn't as comic as Carole Shelley but is still very believable as the dotty old lady. Kerry O'Malley did a fine job as understudy for Mum. I wasn't able to notice any difference in her portrayal vs. Leah Hocking's.
"Solidarity" is an incredible number. Others have mentioned this before but I wanted to say it as well. The writing and direction of this piece does an amazing job of showing Billy's evolution from a beginning dancer to one with talent and promise. This is shown in parallel with the deteriorating situation of the miners. All of the awards given to the the creative and production teams are very well deserved.
In "Expressing Youself" David B. is in total control of the stage. This was my third time seeing him perform and I continue to be awe of his voice and talent. I swear his arms must grow three times longer when he swings the purse around. To see such a small kid make such big moves is amazing. He and Trent play very well together.
Trent teared up during the "Dear Billy" song. I felt much more emotion from Haydn than in any previous performance. Mrs. Wilkinson is a complex character. Most of the time she has a hard edge, but she occassionally shows her feelings. At this performance Haydn seemed very affected by Billy, not only in this scene but in others. I have usually thought of this song as contrived and too much of a gimick. This time I was very moved by it, mostly due to watching how moved Haydn was.
The rope skipping in "Born To Boogie" worked very well (second day in a row). Trent was whipping the rope around at quite a high speed.
Trent was on fire in "Angry Dance". This number is his forte. Near the end his microphone came loose from his hair. We saw it swinging as he tossed his head back and forth. It didn't seem to phase him at all. The scene is lit pretty dimly and I'll bet most of the audience didn't even notice it.
In the hand-warming scene after the Christmas party there was a great connection between David and Trent. We clearly feel Michael's love for Billy.
During "Dream Ballet" Trent had this enormous smile going for the entire number. I had never observed this previously with him or the other boys. He was clearly having the time of his life.
At the Royal Ballet, Greg seems to take longer to reach for the cigarette each time. Tonight he tried to climb the up box seats off stage left. I can't say enough good things about Greg. I thought I would have gotten board of Dad's character by now, but Greg continues to find new depth of emotion to convey the struggle Dad is going through.
Trent did a flawless job on "Electricity". We were among the very few who stood.
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif)
Maybe some audiences don't feel it's polite to give standing ovations in the middle of a show? The applause went for quite a long time, which shows everyone loved the performance.
It was a nice surprise to see my friend Donna Lynne Champlin in the ensemble. We worked together many years ago in some community theater productions in Rochester. She plays in various crowd scenes, including as Small Boy's mom.
I enjoyed Trent's overall performance even more than when I saw him in April. His ballet has become more polished.