Raleigh Reviews

[kport]

The reviews here have singled out Evan Lennon's singing voice. Here is a Youtube clip of Evan as Gavroche:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUxpKb92NLo

Or this, from a middle school talent show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXEIALMPIL0

And a song from A Christmas Story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNc72DlUWpw

The same song, sung by Sam Faulkner a few years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sH_skp6IQk

[Todd]

Thank you for another great review, Todd, especially for chronicling the show with this important and beautiful paragraph!

Appreciate the kind words, Sean. I can't help but think that we'll be seeing more of Sam Faulkner in the future, what with his many talents.

There were one or two supporting roles where I felt a bit underwhelmed by the acting, but for the most part, the cast had great depth.

I forgot to mention this in my comments, but the interpretation of the Mr. Braithwait character in this show was certainly "interesting." He looked like a holdover from Woodstock who was showing the after-effects of a few too many wild parties over the years. Mix in his Jethro Bodine wardrobe (from the "Beverly Hillbillies") a wig that looked like it was picked up at a thrift store, and some shameless mugging and it added up to a Mr. Braithwait unlike any I've seen before. At the Saturday show, I was a bit put off by the bizarreness of it all, but by the Sunday show I found it quite humorous.

Evan Lennon's Michael was a bit less flamboyantly comic than I am used to. For his, and Sam's, sake, I kept wishing that "Express" would have had more time to percolate so that the concept with the tapping on the stairs had reached its full potential. With only four performances out of the gate before I saw numbers five and six, I could just see in my mind's eye how this number could have been fabulous with a bit more time to gel. I just want to add that Evan has a gorgeous singing voice!

Although I prefer the pageantry of the dancing dresses in the London production, I did find this to be an interesting reinterpretation of the number. But I would agree that it probably would have gotten smoother over time. Both Sam and Evan looked a little uncomfortable negotiating their way down the steps in their tap shoes while trying to maintain eye contact with the audience. Gotta wonder if that idea would have eventually been scrapped due to safety concerns, had it been a long-run production.

Sam Faulkner was a terrfic Billy. Sam really is a triple threat, there is no doubt about that: excellent actor, singer, and dancer. I had the good fortune to find myself sitting next to Sam's mother at the matinee. She is a lovely lady, and she is so proud of her son! I asked her what Sam like best about the show besides all of it, and she said, "All of it! Playing Billy is a dream come true for him." It was easy to tell that Sam was having the time of his life up there on that stage as Billy, and the audience loved him.

Very cool that you got to sit next to his mom. I've always wondered what it must be like for a parent seeing your child get a standing ovation for their performance, especially knowing first hand all the time and sweat that has gotten them to that point. I had the pleasure of visiting with his folks and his grandparents after the Saturday night show, all of whom were very nice. Easy to see where Sam gets his friendly and humble nature.

[KiwiT]

Thanks Todd for your review of the final show. Now that I am back home – I nearly got stuck in the Raleigh snowstorm - here are some of my observations on that final performance.

I saw all the shows on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday and they just got better and better each time. The creative team were still making changes to tweak it during my time there and were clearly doing a terrific job.
The final show was largely the same as the matinee until the winter scene when Michael (Evan) received a huge round of applause as he exited the back door for the final time. I always love to see Michael appreciated in this way and it was perhaps a hint of what was to come.

Sam’s Electricity is a truly spectacular affair with several aerials, huge leaps, pirouettes and somersaults combined with more traditional ballet moves. It was performed flawlessly and certainly deserved a standing ovation but sadly with an older audience in a much larger auditorium it just did not happen this time. There was however huge applause which lasted for quite a while.

There is no doubt that Sam was thought of very highly by the cast, as well as those of us who have been able to see him perform, but perhaps the strongest bonds he developed were with Mrs Wilkinson (Janet Dickinson) and Dead Mum (Shari Jordan). From a balcony seat at one of the earlier performances I had a great view of Sam and Shari give each other a hug in the wings after one of his scenes which exemplified this really nicely. In the final performance it was always going to be emotional and when Mrs Wilkinson said to Sam “You are very …… special” it was clear she really meant it. Janet composed herself like the true professional that she is but still had tears in her eyes as she had to say goodbye for the very last time in Raleigh. I could have sworn she exited the back doors rather more briskly than usual too!

It is probably fair to say that Sam’s Letter and Letter Reprise are not normally the most emotional that I have experienced but that just made his final Reprise all the more poignant. Clearly Sam was struggling to get the words out at this point and Shari in her lines as well but they certainly ended up with a really moving and beautiful final Letter Reprise.

Todd has already mentioned the “See Ya Evan” “Yeah, see Ya Sam” lines at the end of the final scene. I really love it when they do this and I think it is a real shame when the boys are not allowed to do it in some of the other productions. It makes for a very emotional finish to the show.

I had a front row seat and could clearly see Sam’s tears as he walked up the aisle for the last time. IN that moment it suddenly hit me that this could be the final time that I would see one of my favourites Billys performing this role. I felt a tap on my left shoulder and turned to find the lady next to me had brought out a new packet of tissues and was offering one to me. I chuckled and politely declined her kind offer, trying to pretend it was not necessary, but I knew I had been rumbled!

Sam has proved himself to be a truly superb Billy and this show was one of those very special performances that I will never ever forget. It is a real shame that only a relatively few people have been able to experience the undeniable talents of this young man as Billy but I am truly blessed to have been one of them. I urge everyone who gets a chance to see Sam perform, in whatever role he may take on next, to seize that chance as his dancing acting and singing are all absolutely amazing.

The “icing on the cake” - (or perhaps that should be “icing on me” as it was so bitterly cold in Raleigh) - was to meet with Sam and his Parents after that final performance – a wonderful end to a very enjoyable few days in Raleigh.

I will try to post a few more general observations about this excellent production in due course.

[LiamM]

Very cool that you got to sit next to his mom. I've always wondered what it must be like for a parent seeing your child get a standing ovation for their performance, especially knowing first hand all the time and sweat that has gotten them to that point.

I sat next to a Billy's grandmother once. As the show started, she clearly became nervous and this nervousness slowly increased as the show went on. It really spiked up as "Born to Boggie" started and kept going up. As Billy climbed up on the piano, her nervousness clearly went through the roof. When Billy landed a perfect flip from the piano, she very visibly relaxed.

She said later that she is glad she sometimes has the opportunity to see the show because when she asks her Billy how the show went, the answer is never better than "it was OK", despite the daily standing ovations.

It is an exhilarating experience to see someone you know performing at a high level. Being family of a Billy also means sharing in the reality of what happens off-stage: the hard work, the requirement to be so driven, and the risk of what can go wrong.

[harryrobson]

Final few days of voting the the 2015 Broadway World Awards for Raleigh. The North Carolina Theatre production of Billy Elliot was wonderful, and certainly worthy of recognition.
You can vote here. http://www.broadwayworld.com/raleigh/vote2015region.cfm

[kport]

Voted.

BETM is doing very well, but a few more votes will be needed to ensure its success. Three categories see it in No. 2, but we can sweep the board if enough Forum members cast their votes!

[harryrobson]

Congrats to everyone involved in BETM at NC Theatre! Lots of winners in the Broadway World Awards!
http://www.broadwayworld.com/raleigh/ar ... s-20160112#