September 2014 Reviews - London

[ERinVA]

James also came to the leaving nights of all the Billys he had worked with, did he not? So much to admire about that man!

[patc]

James also came to the leaving nights of all the Billys he had worked with, did he not? So much to admire about that man!

Yes, Ellen he did, indeed, come to their last nights except the last one (can't remember which Billy). He had to work that day but took a break and came down to the theatre before the show to say farewell to him.

I know this is the Reviews section but we've started so we'll finish. The following is the exact transcript of the letter that James wrote to the Forum. Warning: It may come as a shock to the system to some, LOL, but that's the way it was then.

Please extend my thanks to ALL the members of the forum who have been so supportive and loyal to the show.

I was told when I joined the company that it had a HUGE base of incredibly loyal fans, and that was certainly proven.

I had a great time meeting the hardy regulars outside the stage door, and the send off I got on Saturday night will stay with me always!

The card with messages was a huge surprise, and I was touched at the effort that people put in to get it to me. Gifts of hat's, belt, a marvellous Easington Colliery van from John...and Zippo from Sharon will be treasured.

I was humbled too by the journeys people had made to see the last show...from Germany, Canada and Tokyo, and I left that evening with a lump in my throat.

Thanks again for all the chats....carry on enjoying the show, and I look forward to catching up with you all when I pop back to see my Billy's last nights!

Regards

James Gaddas

.........and he did.

Pat

[ERinVA]

Indeed, things were much less restricted then than they have now become. I think that just as the Billys have grown up, learned more, and moved on over the years, so has the company gone through a similar transition over the nine-year history of the show. But it's nice to remember those days fondly every now and then.

Now, since this is the reviews thread, does anyone else have a review to add?

[patc]

Thursday Matinee 11th September

The big questions at the interval this afternoon were:

1. Is the new extension to the sound booth across the aisle from the existing one a permanent feature or just installed for the Live Billy?
2. Who nicked Billy’s stool which meant that Matteo had to sit on the floor during Grandma’s Song?

But the big talking point was Matteo’s outstanding performance. Goodness gracious me, this was brilliant stuff and he continued in the same vein in the second half topping it off with a thrilling ballet Electricity that includes a mind boggling Tornado-like Spin-Fest. In between he danced, sang and acted superbly with that most endearing voice and with a happy smile or two thrown in for good measure.

Tomi may have toned down his act a bit from his original starting position but it is no less effective with all his trademarks intact including the hilarious “pussycat boxing” with George and his delivery of the Platypus line. A natural comedian he also can effortlessly convey pathos and this was done to great effect in the final scene where the audience gave him all the space he needed. On that subject a thought occurred to me on the way home. If the Michael’s were asked did they prefer silence or cheering/applause after Billy leaves the stage what would their personal preferences be? If that was the end of a movie I suspect that there would be a close up of Michael’s dejected face and then the camera would slowly zoom back some distance away with the scene ending with a fade-to-black.

As usual on Thursdays, the wonderful Gillian was Grandma. This time she turned “instant director” as well when the stool didn’t show up for her song and she cleverly “reinvented” the script to ensure that Matteo took up his unusual floor position. Gillian is razor-sharp. I recall a previous occasion when a Billy forgot his line and she quickly asked a question that got him immediately back on track.

As the fight in the pit between Dad and Tony reached its climax I wondered if Deka would go sprawling across the stage floor like in last Thursday’s evening show. Thankfully, he didn’t.

David Muscat, as well as being a great Mr. B, qualifies as “man-of-a-thousand-facial-expressions”. He has them for all occasions even when he is not centre stage. Fascinating to watch.

The music has evolved over the years and my favourite song from the original cast CD production is Once we were Kings. This is a heartrending song that never fails to move me as the Miners’ families watch fathers and sons ready themselves for a return to work. In the current show version the final section, where the Ensemble sings unaccompanied, has amazing newer powerful harmonies covering almost all voice ranges that richly enhance it. A most stunning piece that stays long in the memory.

I am, indeed, most grateful to all concerned for bringing this inspirational story to life week after week and it was the turn of the magnificent Matteo to lead the way for this afternoon's show. Grazie.

Pat

[dancingboy]

Friday 12 September

The show this evening, with Bradley/ Tomi/Demi, was halted for approximately 20 minutes, whilst the theatre was evacuated, following the fire alarm being sounded. A fire engine attended the theatre within a couple of minutes, but it transpired that nothing was wrong, thankfully. Before the restart David Massey announced that 'the show would go on', to thunderous applause.
The interruption came during the scene with Billy and Mrs Wilkinson, before Expressing Yourself.

The show eventually finished at just before 10.40, meaning there was no lollipop given by small Boy to Big Davey ( too late for a little boy to be on stage) and Finale was cancelled.

[patc]

Thursday Matinee 18th September.

They’re good to go for the 28th. The final piece in the jigsaw has been found and input. The extra (more compact) Digico sound desk at last week’s show has found its way across the aisle and replaced the original. This is quite a superb looking piece of equipment that makes your eyes water if you’re a techie. The sound it produces is unbelievable. You have never heard sound like this before at BETM. Every scene is enhanced. I thought that they must have added some new sound effects but Mark (MD) told us that they are the same sounds only sounding extra-stunning and much more real. For example, the angry scenes prior to Angry Dance have been multiplied in intensity. You can hear the rioters charging down the streets until you feel that they are almost outside the Elliot’s door and ready to burst through. I cannot find the words that would describe Dream Ballet and it’s accompanying music in this new format. All of our breaths were taken away by this new development. They’re gonna need the extra seats in the extra space now available to the right of the sound desk.

Of course, all of this equipment would be of no use without the human performances to go with it and the on-fire cast and music crew in its entirety let rip with a vengeance. There is a river of hot molten lava flowing through the show. Principal adult cast Ruthie, (fresh from her enchanting Proms performance on Saturday night), Deka, Chris, Gillian, Howard, David, Claudia and Barnaby were in such glowing form you couldn’t ask for more. The ensemble stretched every muscle in support. The show moved along at a cracking pace. Not a second was wasted.

It has been a privilege to have seen Bradley’s journey to his current amazing level of performance. He is totally in control, has the utmost confidence in his ability to entertain and has invented his own unique way of doing things. The scene when Dad caught him at ballet class was a real tour-de-force. The timing here (and I include all the superb ballet girls reactions in this) was top of the range. Bradley’s acting in this is as good as it gets. Angry Dance was WOW, with every beat of the batons on shields answered by his thundering feet and screams of frustration and, with the magnified sounds, the cinemas on 28th are going to rock to their foundations if this afternoon’s Bradley demo of it is anything to go by. Dream Ballet was something else and his street Electricity was just that, electric, busy and back-breaking for the over 60’s to watch.

Zach’s brilliance as Michael is always a treat to see. When he hits the stage in Expressing it’s the same result as setting a blow-torch to a piece of magnesium (under laboratory conditions, of course, do not try at home). He spreads a tellingly bright, warm and comforting glow with an inestimable circumference inside of which even those who might be feeling down in the dumps are sent spiralling up to cloud 10.

I’d love to have been a fly on the wall when Mr. Daldry and his cohorts were deciding on what the final scene should be. In a galaxy far away I recall reading a third party review wherein the author wrote that he/she was disappointed that the show didn’t end in the same upbeat way as the film. Well, I wouldn’t agree. In any event, it would be well-nigh impossible to reproduce that on stage to the same effect and we would have had the sight of Barnaby leaping up into the air and “frozen” with a bit-o-magic conjured up by Dynamo. No, it’s the perfect ending. Michael is now the only lost and lonely resident left in Easington …and, boy, does Zach do this so well every time. It never fails to move me.

The Ballet Girls, as always, “cheered up the place” with Dayna providing a masterclass in Debbie-ship.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lucinda Collins playing the RBS receptionist in HER inimitable style.

On the flight home this evening I was thinking (above the sounds of two nonstop crying babies – thank goodness there was no Digico on board) about how the show has moved on over the years. How many improvements have been implemented. How much variety we get. There seems to be something new, exciting and different every week. Anyone coming back to see the show who hasn’t been for a few years will get some surprise and maybe even shock. I was also thinking how the World will change for so many people on the 28th. Will the show going out to such a huge audience reduce the numbers wanting to see it at the VPT? I’m voting NO.

Thanks to Bradley & Co. It was yet another exciting, emotional and uplifting day.

Pat

[Billy Whiz]

Thanks Pat for another great review and for whetting my appetite. I'm really looking forward to next week.

[FM-Switzerland]

SAT September 20th, evening:
After Mitchell it now is Ollie with real tears during the letter scene currently giving us most emotions during that part of the musical (he built it up and did it for the first time now).

[PartiallyGeorge]

Obliging to Moderator's request, here is my review of the Wednesday (24 September) show
(a warning - it's already been published on another site, so it may slightly be 'off-format', so if you find some of my statements are too frivolous please feel free to edit it.)

(Billy - Matteo Zecca, Michael - Todd Bell, Debbie - Kyria Cooper, Small Boy - Lewis Fernée, Tall Boy - Frederick Neilson, Ballet Girls - Littleton, Dad - David Bardsley, Older Billy - Liam Mower
There was no replacement notice on the box office window, so all replacements came out as a surprise, even as a shock)

Well, part one was pretty ordinary, except for two 'drops' - first Kyria dropped her fan (just before she was supposed to say 'You look like a dickhead'), then a policeman dropped his helmet, and it was just when Matteo was doing his pirouettes, so there was a risk he may stumble at it, but Ruthie saved the day and removed the nasty helmet out of danger.
(Sorry, forgot to mention Master Fernée - during Solidarity he had to be restrained by Gillian Elisa - otherwise he'd rush at the policemen and would surely murder some of them - it was pure rage shown on his face, rage and frustration at why he's been held tight by that stupid woman???!!!!).
The break wasn't uneventful - *** bombarded us with messages like 'OMG it's Tom Holland! OMG, it's Fox, OMG, it's...' so I had a hard time to focus on writing the message for the forum. (I did spot Tom - he was just passing the bar).
The start of part two turned out slightly noisier than usual, owing to a large group of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Polytechnic Lesbian and Gay caucus members who packed row A of Dress Circle and whose exclamations were so loud that George (Howard Crossley) changed his line slightly "Oh, here they are, straight from the bar, Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... etc.)' I turned to look - there they were, our heroes of the past, Fox Jackson-Keen, Ryan Collinson, George Maguire, Josh Fedrick etc. (I only noticed Fox and Ryan, I only recognised George much later and I had to ask Josh who he was - again after the show).
Dream Ballet obviously was a big surprise. First I heard someone's loud exclamation / exhalation, I turned to look, saw ***'s face - something like Ginny Weasley's face from Harry Potter 6, when she rushes towards Harry to kiss him - and understood something's happening, turned back and... here he was.
I had expressed my doubts about whether Liam would be able to make a good Older Billy remembering only too well Alex Loxton's short career as Older Billy. Well, I'm so glad that I have to eat my words. Liam was absolutely exquisite - gentle, delicate (hmm, not sure this is a right word, nonetheless - it was like he was playing someone at the same time weightless and strong and their duo with Matteo was beyond my wildest dreams. (Well, maybe the music helped - they re-recorded the Swan Lake, did it in a completely new arrangement and this new arrangement, very strong, very powerful, added a right amount of wonder to what Matteo and Liam were doing together making all that a true masterpiece, a pinnacle of the whole show.
Excellent, fantastic Electricity , and the presence of previous Billys in the front row of Dress Circle helped a lot - Matteo received probably his longest and loudest standing ovation of all.
BTW they re-recorded not only the Swan Lake, but also that opus recorded on Billy's cassette - the one Sound Technician turns on erroneously first instead of Swan Lake - now the melody is different and very familiar (I couldn't recognise it, alas).

Summing up, a truly outstanding show.

Stephen Daldry was at the theatre - I even managed to exchange a couple of words with him (nothing in particular - just 'Outstanding show' - 'Oh yes, the best one! - Thanks to that lot' (gesturing towards ex Billys and Billymobile).

[ERinVA]

Thanks so much for sharing that with us, George. I am so envious of having missed that show.

I am glad that Liam's performance dispelled your doubts. I have made a point to see Liam dance with Matthew Bourne's company twice on my most recent yearly trips to London, and I could have told you that he would be absolutely wonderful in the role. My impression has been that he obviously loves to dance, and he is a very "giving" dancer when working with a partner--both qualities that make for an excellent Older Billy.