Ogunquit Reviews

[kport]

The final day's two performances were bitter sweet. Both were amazing; both Sam and Noah turned out their best efforts ever; both cried tears that tore at the heartstrings of the audience. Both were supported by the most wonderful Michael I have seen to date: Alec. The cast and ensemble were on fire, but did not go over the top as sometimes happens. President Bush '41 was at the matinee, which gave the cast an added measure of inspiration. There was a barbecue for cast and OPH staff and volunteers between shows; it was low key, happy, family-like and just a helluva good way to say our goodbyes. There were smiles, there were stories, there were endless hugs, there were tears............

What can I say about BETM at Ogunquit that hasn't been said before? I guess there is one thing: that it is (to the best of my knowledge) the first time it has been done, without the financial guarantees of a for-profit organization, by a small, regional 501.c charity. OPH has charitable status and relies on its enormous backing from patrons, supporters, volunteers, and locals to run a season that lasts from May 1 to October 31st. It hasn't got millions or billions behind it. It did THIS from a grassroots level, mustered in all of its friends from Broadway and Beyond to contribute, threw caution to the wind and the budget out the window when it learned that the set had been repatriated to London and the license had been sold to MTI. It took a deep breath, and it got on with constructing this prize of a show from the ground up. It could have gone so wrong; yet it has gone so well. This makes me proud to be associated with the OPH, and it makes me marvel at the amazing confluence of talent, karma and just plain Yankee ingenuity and hard work to pull all this off.

Pulled off. By a Regional Theater. A Non-Profit Regional. In a Maine town with a year-round population of 8000. Who would have thought?

The Stars HAVE Looked Down upon BETM and the Ogunquit Playhouse!

It is a tradition that the Olympic Torch is passed to the next host location at the closing of the Games. The BETM 'torch' is now passed to Raleigh - and I hope it finds equal success putting on this amazing show!

Thanks to the dozens of Forum members I met over 40 performances. Thanks for coming to support this Show. It was a real pleasure to see you all, share a chat or a meal, and have a great time in Maine!

[angelenroute]

I don't think I've ever been sadder to have missed a production than I am about this one. I just couldn't swing it, no matter how many times I looked at my wallet and calendar. The truth is though, Billy's story continues to amaze audiences far and wide, large and small, and I have no doubt whatsoever that in the hands of regional theatres, Billy's story will keep being reborn anew more and more going forward.

Thank you so much to all of you for your reviews along the way, and thank you to kport for your inside insights as well! I really enjoyed reading everyone's posts in this thread, and I thank you all very, very much!

Sean

[atreyu]

The Stars HAVE Looked Down upon BETM and the Ogunquit Playhouse!

Particularly in the avoidance of injury through the whole 40-show run. One shudders to think what might have transpired if they had to deal with that.

According to Wikipedia, "Ogunquit" means "beautiful place by the sea" in the original Abenaki language. One wonders if they had Billy Elliot at the OPH in mind when the town was named since it fits very well.

It was quite the privilege to have seen how great the show was on opening weekend and just kept getting incrementally better and better over the 5 week run as the cast gelled and gained experience. To the point where the shows on the final weekend could be called run-of-the-mill, but for this production, that means spectacular. I don't think I've enjoyed BETM more, with perhaps the single exception of the last show on Broadway.

Final thoughts will probably morph into discussions on other threads here concerning the high bar that is set for regional productions and my speculation as to the possibility of Ogunquit being the last time Billy flies in North America. But for now, to borrow Anastasia Barzee's delivery of a particular line, hats off to the cast and crew at Ogunquit for a very f**king special presentation of Billy Elliot.

[rob_hanson1979]

Hello, my name is Elder..... wait! Wrong show!
So I suppose it's time for my to share my thoughts. I drove down from Canada for the last few shows. I was a little unsure if it would be worth it, since its a really long drive for a regional show. But boy oh boy was it worth it. This production surpassed my wildest expectations. This production was just magical!

It was really great to see Noah performing again! He hasn't lost anything, and in fact he's gotten even better. I wish he could just keep performing.

For Sam, wherever they found him, WOW! This guy is amazing! One of the best technical dancers I've seen perform as Billy. They could transfer him right away to London and they'd be very fortunate. It may sound a bit odd, but I hope they don't... just because they would be robbing the dance would of an amazing upcoming dancer. No doubt I could see him joining a major ballet company sometime in the near future. And an incredibly sweet young man too.

Anastasia Barzee was really good as Mrs Wilkinson. A little younger and smaller than the actresses that traditionally play the role. She was really good though, and she has a great voice. Also.... I've never seen a Mrs W get so emotional during The Letter. She had people really choked up. And her last performance as she said a final goodbye to Billy, she was in tears well before she said "before I start to cry".

Anthony Festa and Armand Schultz were great in their roles too. Both are what I picture when I imagine those characters. And Dale Soules as Grandma.... what a gem. I loved her! I really liked how she almost spoke instead of singing Grandma's Song. It was like she was really telling the story.

The other amazing find was Alec Shiman. What a kid! I can't really put my finger on what exactly made him so amazing in the role of Michael.... except that he's brilliant! I think Michael is a very tough role to fill, as you need a boy who can sing, dance, act, and sometimes even if they can do all those things, they still just don't quite fit the role. But Alec can do all those things, and he managed to embody Michael. I honestly don't know how I will feel about seeing anyone else as Michael.

The theatre itself was nice. When I saw pictures, I thought it looked a bit kitchy and run down. But it was very nice. The thing I noticed most was how incredibly nice the staff was. Every single one of them was kind and sweet and friendly. They never rushed anyone, and did their best to help whenever they could. And it was really nice to have them say things like "welcome back". Makes you feel special! I truly think every broadway theatre could take a lesson from these people!

God, Ogunquit needs to do something about that intersection in the middle of town. Most all the traffic issues are related to that one spot. A simple roundabout would probably fix everything.
It was really nice meeting those of you who were there from the forum. Bill, I hope you get some rest after your run with the show. You deserve it!

[rob_hanson1979]

I forgot to mention.... I was happy in the last show they did "See ya, Noah" "Yea, see ya Alec"
Ogunquit definitely carried on the Billy tradition very well.

[kport]

Ogunquit's BETM is now in first place in Broadway World's vote for Best Musical / Maine. Voting is still open.................

http://www.broadwayworld.com/maine/live ... qmXyL.dpbs

[CJ-Rochester]

Ogunquit's BETM is now in first place in Broadway World's vote for Best Musical / Maine. Voting is still open.................

http://www.broadwayworld.com/maine/live ... qmXyL.dpbs

If you click on the Back to Main... link there are several other categories in which BETM is nominated.

Noah is in first place for Best Actor in a Musicial, Best Dance Performance in a Musical, and in third for Most Promising (Local) Debut.
Anastasia is in 4th for Best Actress in a Musical.
Adam Pelty is in second for Best Choreography.
Billy Elliot (Ogunquit Playhouse) is in the lead for Best Ensemble Performance in a Play or Musical.

[kport]

Ogunquit's BETM is now in first place in Broadway World's vote for Best Musical / Maine. Voting is still open.................

http://www.broadwayworld.com/maine/live ... qmXyL.dpbs

If you click on the Back to Main... link there are several other categories in which BETM is nominated.

Noah is in first place for Best Actor in a Musicial, Best Dance Performance in a Musical, and in third for Most Promising (Local) Debut.
Anastasia is in 4th for Best Actress in a Musical.
Adam Pelty is in second for Best Choreography.
Billy Elliot (Ogunquit Playhouse) is in the lead for Best Ensemble Performance in a Play or Musical.

Noah is also tied for top position as Best Vocal Performance in a Musical.

The votes will be checked before being given the final tally, to eliminate duplicate votes, etc.

[kport]

Thanks for the fantastic reviews. It sounds like they have taken the show to a new level. Now how the hell am I going to raise the money to get over there to see it?

The production was slated to use the set from the last Tour, but three months ago everything was purloined, and shipped to the UK

A bit of speculation here but I wonder if the set is going to be used for a UK Tour when the Victoria Palace closes in 2016 for modernisation.

It is time to rehash old theories.

We know that the US Tour's set, costumes and so on were sent back to London after the tour closed, when MTI acquired the license.

I hope someone will be able to ascertain whether or not the North American sets (or adaptations thereof) are used in the UK tour.