August 2015 Reviews - Netherlands

[jtsw1]

August 1

My second trip to Scheveningen started badly - first I'd booked only a cheap seat on the ring for the matinee because I thought Svenno's last show would be the evening show. Then it got even worse, for my train turned out to be delayed so I only could see the second half of the show. So it took a while to let my disappointment subside, and as it turned out my seat was so bad that I actually thought if I had seen the whole show there it wouldn't have been much worse... the show just isn't the same when you have to crane your neck and can't see the face expressions. But then MCMT got on the way, and Big Davey actually started headbanging my bad feelings away (I don't know if he always does that, but I don't think so - it was very funny). The sound was great, so at least I could hear Svenno's extraordinary singing voice very well. His dancing was beautiful, too, and at the end it turned out to be the emotional experience I hoped it to be, so the tears in Svenno's eyes proved to be contagious for me.

Then the evening show came, with a proper seat for me (first row in the middle, you can see everything, including the feet, and it feels like they play just for you - best seats in the whole theatre, in my opinion!). New Billy Laurian was on, along with new Michael Jochem and new Debbie Holly. It turned out to be another great cast! Laurian gave a very mature performance, he was one of the best actors I've seen in the role (out of, like, eight now), giving a serious and natural Billy, totally believable at any time. He's an exceptionally talented dancer, too (Angry Dance and Electricity were absolutely on point, in fact some - including me - even gave a standing ovation after Angry Dance), and it was obvious he had a lot of fun on stage. Jochem, too, maybe a little too much, he played Michael without any "dark" undertones, but then again why not, if you're a comedian, you should go for it, and he did! Holly was another perfect Debbie - lots of attitude, perfect timing.

And when speaking of Dutch BETM you have to mention the perfect ensemble. In London you can sometimes get the impression that they're a bit tired (and short of men), but in Scheveningen it always seems as if they have the time of their lives. Especially Mr Braithwaite, he's even better than David Muscat. And Big Davey has to be mentioned, he has enormous stage presence and a great opera voice.
And this time, something special happened: the ensemble had trouble delivering "Once we were kings"... One of them had funny hair, and they all fought with attacks of laughter. But it all went well. Very funny to watch!

BTW, there's one change nobody mentioned, I think: in London, Michael welcomes the "trousers" at the end of Express, but in Scheveningen he shoos them away. Don't understand why!

Something I can't understand neither: why Stage Entertainment is about to cancel this show next year. The cast is perfect, they have an amazing choreographer who does incredibly great work with the kids, and everyone seems to love their job. They could print money with it for another five years at least, I'd say!