December 2011 Reviews - NYC

thomasR
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by thomasR »

Sean, I was at the same show you were Thursday night. It was also my first time seeing Julian and I was equally impressed with him. I noticed several of the same things you did, Julians reactions are spot on! When Dad says "your mum's dead" Julian's face turned extremely angry and he started breathing heavy before he lept off the table. This short extra pause added something really special to that scene, when he throws stuff from the bedroom, look out below!

I also agree with Sean's view on Austin as Tony, I had seen him before, and I agree his character is very believable. Austin and Patrick are the only Tony's that I've found to be believable, both in acting, and the age they appear on stage.

Was a great show! It was a great treat getting to see Julian.
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angelenroute
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by angelenroute »

I wanted to add a few notes that I left out of my review of the December 8th show with Julian Elia as Billy:

1) When the miners and ballet girls, Mrs. Wilkinson, and Billy all really come together in Solidarity, my sister let out an audible "wow!". It made me feel great knowing this amazing number has this effect on people, especially for their first time seeing it!

2) Julian's harmony with Daniel (Dad) at the end of Deep Into The Ground was just sooooo beautiful! The change Billy team made to turn this into a harmony is one of the greatest improvements I've ever seen to an already awesome show.

3) At the emotional end to Dream Ballet, when Julian finishes right in Daniel's face, the cheers he got were led (for me) by a woman behind me whose "Whoooo" got stuck in her throat, she was so overcome with the beauty and incredible force of this moment. Another example of the power of this show, and how wonderful it is to see it with people who vocalize their expressions of awe.

4) I was talking to a couple in the row behind mine during Intermission, telling them about the cast and the show, finding the invisible bar of excitement floating in the air between us and raising it even higher. And then something happened that has never occurred for me before, though I suspect it won't be the last time. Amidst our happy conversation, the woman said to me, "Do you have a child in the cast?" I'm sure I paused a second before answering "No," so surprised I was by the question. I'm old enough to, sure, but no one in my long history of seeing this show has ever asked me that. Do I look older now? Maybe just wiser and more capable of the great gift of parenthood? But I don't know if it had anything to do with how I looked. I think this woman picked up on the pride I exhibited for the show and its cast. Like a proud father, I can't help but be thrilled to see the talents of these children (and adult cast too!), and whether I realized it or not, whether I liked it or not, my paternal affection from the audience was visible.

Perhaps some of you have been asked the same thing. And even if you haven't, I have a hunch many of you will understand this maternal and paternal instinct for the actors. Though the cast and crew are their own tight-knit family, we are all proud parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, brothers and sisters through a marriage of appreciation and love for this very, very special show. Billy Elliot The Musical is a family, and we're all so extremely blessed to be a small part of it.

Sean

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
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CJ-Rochester
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by CJ-Rochester »

angelenroute wrote: ...the woman said to me, "Do you have a child in the cast?"
Haha! At one of the shows in Rochester this weekend a lady asked the same question to LiamM and myself. I guess our enthusiasm for the show was obvious. :P
:/
mxmx
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by mxmx »

December 13 show was a strange one. First of all it was my first time in 19 months seeing it in New York after seeing the tour productions a number of times in Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco... so there have been many changes in that time with casting, etc. Additionally, the cast has reportedly been hit with a nasty winter bug and there were numerous stand-ins playing. Add to that the fact that everyone knows the show is closing and I guess I should not be surprised that it somehow felt a bit lazy, a bit less polished. I'd go as far to say that tour #2 seemed more polished in San Francisco and that the Broadway production, at least last night, has taken on a feeling of going-through-the-motions. It certainly seems different than it did early in its run.

This is not to say that it wasn't good or enjoyable because of course it was, but Daniel Jenkins as Jackie and Katherine McGrath as Grandma did not seem as engaging as their tour counterparts. Surprisingly, Patrick Mulvey as Tony was completely different here than he was in Chicago, having lost a lot of his passion and anger. Perhaps he is being given different direction. Emily Skinner was out and Laura Marie Duncan was terrific as Mrs. Wilkinson. As for Peter Mazurowski's Billy, he was good. Highest marks for dancing. He also had been out for a week-and-a-half and it was his first show back.

I haven't followed all the details of the show's de-fanging, so I'm not sure if this is news or not... but it was nice to hear the "f-bomb" in "Solidarity" again. Michael still uses it a couple of times, but Billy does not. I detected no other attempts to soften the accent or the dialogue except for the unnecessary and stupid move of replacing the child's voice at the start of the show (turn cell phones off, etc.) with a generic American female voice. A few bits of dialogue that had been added to the tours are now included here. The only other shortcut detected was the elimination of Mrs. Wilkinson's husband in the nighttime scene when it's snowing.

The audience at large, of course, did not notice any of this and a good time was had by all.
skkmercury
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by skkmercury »

I was fortunate enough to get to NYC and see BETM on 12/9/2011. My only other time there was back in April, when I saw the show for the very first time - with Alex Ko as Billy. That show was absolutely amazing (perhaps miraculous) and has had me hooked ever since.

Anyway, this past Friday night, I saw Joseph Harrington as Billy. He's incredible. I didn't feel the slightest bit short-changed by his performance. I was, however, less than impressed with Dad, Tony and George's performances. Certainly not bad.... actually good; I just wasn't thinking "wow" like I was with everyone else. I saw Emily Skinner's understudy (sorry, can't remember her name), and she was terrific. Michael (played by Jack) and Mr. Braithwaite (played by Tommie) were stellar! I never thought the show felt lazy or that anyone was just going through the motions. Hopefully, the 12/13 performace may have just been an isolated situation.

Here's to all of the cast and crew. May all remaining performances be your best ever. If I could get back to NYC one more time before January 8th, I'd be one blessed puppy.
jsd337
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by jsd337 »

I too saw Joseph, but on Wednesday's matinee.

I knew I had to see Billy one last time (I'll be leaving NYC from Dec. 22-Jan. 22 :( ) and I had a free day today, and I got to see Joseph, who was brilliant. I cannot believe he's only 12! He's really mature and tall for a 12 year old, even taller than Tall Boy Peter! Nevertheless, Joseph was great. Very elegant dancer and great speaking voice, had great chemistry with Mrs. Wilkinson (it wasn't Emily Skinner, it was her understudy, who was BRILLIANT by the way. She plays Mrs. W a lot more sarcastic and more bitter than anyone I've ever seen play that role, and it's just as hilarious and both sweet when she becomes all caring).

Joseph plays a very emotional and caring Billy, as compared to angry Billys and happy Billys. Don't get me wrong - all are great and I don't prefer either or any, but that's where I place him in my Billy categories lol.

On a related note, I've seen Billy 7 times now (and that'll be it unless I move to London lol), and only twice have I heard the audience audibly and loudly react with an "AWW" when Billy "didn't get into" the RBS (one of them was this Joseph show, the other one was when I saw Alex back in April or May - coincidentally, the only other Billy I have in the "emotional/sad Billy" category was Alex). Usually it's a silent disappointment, a giggle knowing what to expect (if they saw the film) or cheer and laughter when it's revealed that he did get in, so that was fun. I also loved Joseph's sly smile at moments throughout - he'd smile mischievously in certain moments, which was an interesting touch.

A little new bit that I loved was Dad groping and slamming the RBS mirror-wall thing looking for the hidden door. Made me laugh out loud 'cause I'd seen the show few times before and I didn't expect that part.

Anyway, it's a great way to end my Billy viewing experience. Seven times I've seen Billy - and seven different Billys seen (in order of my seeing them: Peter, Alex, Jacob, Dean Charles, Myles, Tade, Joseph). Lucky to have been able to see them all - they are all brilliant. And this show is brilliant. And I am genuinely sad it's almost over.
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ERinVA
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by ERinVA »

Thanks for your review. Sorry that you will be out of town and have to miss the final show. :(
Ellen



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angelenroute
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by angelenroute »

jsd337 wrote:On a related note, I've seen Billy 7 times now (and that'll be it unless I move to London lol)
I'm so sad to read this, not only for your sake but for my future sake too. London was a big trip for me and I have no guarantees that I'll be able to make it back there again in time. Once the Tour closes, as I imagine it eventually will, that's that.
jsd337 wrote:Anyway, it's a great way to end my Billy viewing experience. Seven times I've seen Billy - and seven different Billys seen (in order of my seeing them: Peter, Alex, Jacob, Dean Charles, Myles, Tade, Joseph). Lucky to have been able to see them all - they are all brilliant. And this show is brilliant. And I am genuinely sad it's almost over.
I'd say you got a great cross-section of Billys who have performed in London, Toronto and New York. I won't be seeing Joseph ever until the final weekend. I'm glad you enjoyed his performance, and I look forward to seeing him too.

Thank you for the review and for becoming part of our forum family here!

Sean

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
jsd337
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by jsd337 »

Thanks. :D It's been fun being able to discuss Billy Elliot with people who clearly love and adore the show and are really passionate about it.

I'll definitely stick around here too, to see and follow how Billy is doing in London, the tour, and how our Billys/Michaels/BGs/other cast are growing up!

Enjoy the final show weekend!
mxmx
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Re: December 2011 Reviews - NYC

Post by mxmx »

Saturday 12/17 matinee... That's more like it! Clearly the bug going around the cast took a toll and affected Tuesday's show. Obviously it was serious enough that there weren't even enough understudies to go around. Mrs. Wilkinson's husband has now returned!

Peter was on again and was obviously much more in the groove than Tuesday, which was his first show in over a week. Today he hit the ball out of the park. Tade is now the one that's been out for a while. Hope he's okay. There may have been a game time call because it seemed like they opened the house really late. At 1:55 there was still a huge line of people out on the street and they were really rushing people to their seats quickly.

First time seeing Emily Skinner since Chicago in August 2010. She's definitely different in the Broadway production, somewhat more appropriately coarse, but her portrayal still doesn't quite click for me. Her accent seems even thicker now, which is odd since they were supposedly going to tone things down a bit more. Perhaps they've abandoned the idea now that the show is going to close.
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