August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

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Billy Whiz
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August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by Billy Whiz »

A place for August's reviews.

Keep 'em coming.
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ERinVA
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Re: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by ERinVA »

Thanks for the excellent review, shimmyshimmy. It's good to know that your 50th Toronto show did not let you down.
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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CJ-Rochester
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Re: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by CJ-Rochester »

Great review shimmyshimmy! Congrats on reaching your 50th show in such a short time. I'm sure your bank account feels the pain. :lol:

See you next weekend. :D
:/
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Re: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by porschesrule »

Congrats on your 50th show, shimmyshimmy and thanks for the nice review of it.
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Re: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by ERinVA »

It's great to hear that your brother loved the show. Another convert! :D
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: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by CJ-Rochester »

Fri. August 12, 2011

Billy - Ty,
Michael - Dillon,
Tall Boy - Jack

My main purpose of this 3-show Billython was to see the two newest Billys, Ty and Julian, before the Toronto production closes. Based on the tracking of the earlier performances this week it looks like I am in luck. There have also been several changes in the adult cast (Dad, Tony, Grandma), so lots of new things to see. :)

Right from the very first "Take Me Up" I could tell that I was going to enjoy Ty's
performance. Sometimes I have seen newer Billys struggle with the accent, but Ty has this just right. He is a very good actor, and is great at showing with facial
expressions the struggles, pains, and frustrations that Billy goes through. Also his
bright blond hair lights up the stage!

Boxing -
I noticed Gabe was doing full push-ups tonight during the "Oh Jesus" lines. I think
this helps the audience notice him more, in that his body is moving higher off the
floor.

Ty gives the John Travolta bit some new moves, with a few high kicks added in.

Grandma's song -
Cindy Benson plays Grandma a bit differently than others I have seen, but I took a quick liking to her. She has a lovely singing voice. Ty was not too expressive
during most of the song, just watching her. However he laughed like crazy at the
"I'd give them all the finger" line, which of course the audience laughed at as well.

Solidarity -
Ty carries this worried/concerned/frustrated look on his face for much of the show, especially near the end of this number as he gets ready for the pirouettes. Still he had a nice finish.

I noticed Ty spins left (counter-clockwise). The only other Billy I saw do this was
Jacob, who is left-handed. I was going to ask Ty if he is a lefty too, but forgot
about this when I saw him after the show.

In the argument with Dad after, Ty literally squealed the "Oh Sh*t" line as he ran
off. Even Kate smiled at this, which works well with the sarcasm of her next line
"well that was a very mature way of handling it".

Express -
As Alan says "blond on blond" with Ty and Dillon. They look like brothers. Near
the start of the song, Ty's arms missed going into the sleeves when he rolled into
the pink nightgown. However he was able to fix this quickly as nearly all eyes were on Dillon at the time.

Letter -
I didn't notice any tears, but he did look quite sad. However Alan and Rich were
both in the front row and said they saw tears.

B2B -
I have really come to like Job Christenson as the "permanent substitute" Mr.
Braithwaite. He has a number of moves that will remind folks of the great Thommie Retter, but also some of his own. I love when he pulls of one of his shirts he then uses it to wipe his armpits. Ty seemed to take a bit longer on top of the piano to prepare for the flip, but nailed it perfectly.

Angry -
I heard a loud F-you from Ty just after the tape of Thatcher's voice plays. It's
been a long time since I've heard a Billy shout this out. The only others I recall
doing so were Liam and Dayton in New York.


Maggie Thatcher -
I always like watching the small boys in this scene. Gabe really jumps for joy when the crowd is urging Dad to sing "Big Spender".

Tutu Scene -
I love how Dillon's whole body shakes and shivers when he starts to remove his
clothes to put on the tutu ("It's bloody freezing in here!!!"). He keeps finding
more ways to ham things up in this scene.

Dream Ballet -
There is something I like about this more in Toronto than New York. It is the same choreography, but I think the theater in Toronto has a bit more space to work with. Also the blue lighting seems to be brighter and more intense, which helps enhance the mood.

In the scene with Mrs. W, I was still getting used to David Keely as Dad. I think he
does ok, but he is as different from Armand, as Armand was from Greg Jbara.

He Could Go -
It has been said before, but I will add to it, Jake Epstein as the new Tony is as
close a replacement for Patrick Mulvey as one can get. If you squint or are sitting
far away, you could not tell the difference in their looks. That said, they are not
identical actors. There are some parts where I thought Jake plays the role more
intense than Patrick, and others where I think Patrick is more intense. Overall I
liked Jake's performance very much.

Electricity -
My first reaction to Ty is "what a voice!" He does a nice job with the song. When he breaks in the dance the first think he does is an aerial back flip (similar to Myles). I love when they do this, as it jolts the audience into paying attention
that this will be no ordinary musical number. :D Ty's Electricity has a lot of acro
and gymnastics moves, and is very high energy.

In the soup kitchen scene that follows, Dillon continues to add to the pelvic thrust
movements he does behind Lesley's back. I think she actually turned around and saw him this time, but ignored it.

Post -
I really liked watching Cindy(Grandma)'s facial expressions. She looks so sad and
forlorn when Billy says he didn't get in, and then turns it around completely when
she realizes it was a joke. Nice job!

In the goodbye scene with Mrs. Wilkinson, I have always thought Kate performed this scene with great emotion. She is almost in tears with her final "good luck" line to Billy, as she looks around and realizes how miserable her future will be compared to his.

Letter Reprise -
Lots of tears from Ty during this.

Overall this was a very responsive audience. They gave a full standing ovation at the start of the curtain call, even before Ty came back on stage. Then of course was another standing O for Ty at the second curtain call.

After the show I was able to make it to the stage door in time to congratulate Ty. Alan and Rich were several minutes behind me, by which time he had left. However Alan did introduce us to Julian's mom. Julian was on standby and was hanging out with some of the other kids. He came along and we got to meet him as well and get some pictures. He and his mom are both very nice people.
So it looks like Julian this afternoon, and Myles tonight. It should be quite a day, after an awesome start last night. :D

-Chris
:/
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CJ-Rochester
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Re: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by CJ-Rochester »

Agreed Alan, regarding the two wonderful shows today with Julian and Myles. No comment on how the shirt fits :lol:.

I will post more reviews when I get home Sunday afternoon. However I just want to remind everyone that there are only three weeks left of this amazing production. It is possible some of the cast may end up on the tour or Broadway, but nobody knows for sure. Therefore if any of the big fans on this forum have not been to Toronto this summer, get there soon!!!
:/
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Re: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by Todd »

shimmyshimmy wrote: I had to wear the shirt today that Julian's family gave me yesterday
They sound quite generous. What prompted the nice gift of the shirt ?
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Re: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by Billy Whiz »

shimmyshimmy wrote:I had to wear the shirt today that Julian's family gave me yesterday, but it was a bit small and I had to suck in my gut.
Wow! That must have been one hell of a big suck :D :D ;)
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Billy Whiz is the Gallery Admin. Please send your photos, articles etc to forum.gallery[at]billyelliottheforum.me.uk Please replace [at] with @

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Re: August 2011 Reviews - Toronto

Post by Rich B »

I normally don't do reviews anymore but since this was my first time in Toronto and having not seen these Billys before, I feel I must. Let me gather some thoughts and post something in the next few days. All in all, a FANTASTIC weekend. The casting folks did it again!

Rich
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