June 2011 Reviews - Toronto

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ERinVA
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June 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by ERinVA »

Put your June reviews in this thread.
Ellen



"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983


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Re: Five New Canadian Cast Members Announced

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shimmyshimmy wrote:First of all Sandy beat me out for the last lottery ticket.
For those that do not know, Sandy is Dillon's guardian.
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CJ-Rochester
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Re: June 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by CJ-Rochester »

Thanks for the review shimmyshimmy. Another excellent Billy has made his debut. :D

Casey Whyland was the original Tracy Atkinson on Broadway. According to posts in the former NY cast section she was called back into service.
:/
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Re: June 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by kport »

Mixed. To each his/her own, I guess. Or, you can't please all the people all the time!

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Re: June 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by ERinVA »

I really wonder how someone can watch BETM with its grittiness and come away describing it as a "sugary treat." :?
Ellen



"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983


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yanks1153
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Re: June 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by yanks1153 »

I really loved your review and now I want to get to Toronto. Their was so much detail which I could write one like yours.
Casey Whyland left the Broadway company September 27, 2009 and her replacement Ruby has been with the company since September 29,2009.
Maria Connelly as Debbie and Casey Whyland as Tracey were both original ballet girls from Broadway, this one of the top reasons I could go to Toronto. What a reunion between these two.
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CJ-Rochester
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Re: June 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by CJ-Rochester »

Great review shimmyshimmy. From my very first time I have thought the "pick up the biscuit" scene was a magical bit of staging. For me this is where Billy is transformed from just another scrappy lad into a real ballet student. Glad to hear Julian does so well in this. :D
:/
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Re: June 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by LiamM »

As shimmyshimmy mentioned, I had the day-off on June 22 and caught both shows. I really wanted to see Myles, having seen his cover of "Tiny Dancer". I had gone back through the tracking and noticed that whomever is on Sunday almost always plays one of the shows on Wednesday. Myles did Sunday, so I thought I had it. That was until I checked the tracking on Tuesday evening and saw that Myles had gone on again. Maybe it's bad luck to hope to see a particular Billy. I had done that on a visit to London, hoping to see Ollie Gardner. I got Tom Holland with Ollie, oddly, as Tall Boy. I decided I would do my shows anyway, since any of those Billies would be new to me.

The sets start off-stage and are brought in during "Stars". When they started moving, the stage-left set, there was a big crashing sound. Someone had left two of the big boards used during "Angry" leaning against the set, in their starting place for "Angry". The stage hands quickly cleared the boards away and brought the set in a few minutes late. Probably hardly anyone noticed.

Dillon really milks Tall Boy. During the boxing scene, Tall Boy is usually very, very polite with his "can I have a word?". Dillon, on the other hand, comes up to George and starts pulling at his shirt. He really earns his two words.

Marcus was Billy. Wow, beautiful ballet. He had one slip during "Express", but it worked brilliantly; it was just before Michael says one of his lines about "keep up". Marcus really nailed the RBS letter scene. He turned around from the cookie jar, sees the letter, and this look goes over his face. It's a mixture of dread and apprehension, as if he can't decide whether or not he wants to read the letter. It made the scene really powerful.

shimmyshimmy is right about exiting from the front of the theatre. They keep most of the exits closed and it takes some time to file out. But I think the cast gets out more quickly as well. In New York, Chicago, and London, I've taken my time to get out of the theatre and never had difficulty having time to talk to the cast. Too bad. I missed getting my shoes (see my profile image) signed by Marcus and Jack.

shimmyshimmy and I went off for a bite to eat then came back to try the evening lottery. We both missed it, but had the good fortune to chat with Julian's family while waiting. No, I was not harassing the parents! But we did make arrangements to catch Julian after the show to get my shoes signed.

Dillon was Michael. Just as he came on through the stage-right doors on his bike, the chain fell off right as he pushed down on the peddles, causing him to lose balance and veer into the miners. He recovered and kicked his way to his place on the stage-left chairs. He leaned in to look at the chain and one of the miners tried to help him put it back on. It looked just like it would in real life. But they didn't manage to get the chain back on and Michael had to walk the bike with the chain dragging. I had expected that they would fix the bike before the "oi, Dancin' boy" scene at the end. But the chain was still off and Michael walked the bike on. Now that doesn't make sense. If he can't fix the the bike right away, OK, but why would he still be walking the broken bike around over a year later? Next time, they should call me backstage during the intermission. I'm an avid cyclist and I could fix it for them! Speaking with Julian afterwards, he said that he didn't know there was a problem and was surprised to see Michael walking the bike when we was called back to the stage. If they couldn't fix the bike, Michael should have just walked on without it.

Julian gave a beautiful performance. There were a few signs of "young Billy". Julian did some cartwheels instead of aerials (hands-free cartwheels). He told me afterwards that aerials would be going in soon. It's wonderful to see them develop. His singing was wonderful and included all the high notes, which are sometimes left out by older Billies.

I had a great conversation with him and his family after the show. I got my tap shoes signed (not shined; I don't ask the Billies to do that!) and got some photos with him. He's a really friendly kid.

I noticed that he had with him a Billy Bag. I restrained myself from asking him how it feels like when he dances, since he might throw the bag away and start pirouetting. But I did ask why he had a prop with him. He said that he bought his own and that they are available at a local store, Te-koop at 421 Queen St. West at Spadina. They do mail-order, but only ship to US and Canada. (The bag is also available in the UK from Fred Perry.)

Two wonderful shows, but still no Myles. Let's try again: I'll be there Tuesday and will stay until I see him! I know others will be in town. PM if you'd like to meet up.
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