March 2010 Reviews - NYC

User avatar
James.R
Site Moderator
Site Moderator
Posts: 897
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:37 am
Location: London, UK

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by James.R »

Frankly - even at the best of times on any normal night the streets right by the theatre are pretty scary with the drunken characters attracted by the railway station nearby . And things are alas not improving....
Tributes have been paid to a 15-year-old boy murdered in a suspected gang fight in one of Britain's busiest railway stations during rush hour. The boy, a pupil at the Henry Compton School in Fulham, west London, was then knifed repeatedly in the chest. Police and paramedics went to his aid as colleagues began arresting suspects as they tried to escape. Several teenagers were held behind The Stag pub in Bressenden Place.
{The Stag is the pub just to the rear of the theatre....BTW}

In the light of things like this you can understand why parents and chaperones do what they do - and quite rightly so. And remember, unlike NY, the stage doors do not have friendly cops standing by with barriers and crowd control.

Time to put this one to bed folks!!!
gpcolo
George
Posts: 561
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by gpcolo »

March 27 Liam/Trevor (Seat L24 for my 7th B.E. Show)
After seeing different Billy’s in my previous six shows I finally ended with a repeat performance. I missed seeing Alex but hopefully will catch him on the next trip. It was rather nice to sit back and look at different aspects of a show with the exact same line-up from a few nights before.

It was once again a flawless production and this being my first time in obstructed view/right orchestra, I liked the different angle very much. You miss little: briefly not seeing Billy in the Dream Ballet and not knowing why people are laughing at Mr. B’s return after Dad’s angry encounter with the ballet class are two that I remember. As others have said you get to see a lot of great facial expressions that come to this side of the audience. Overall a perfect place to sit if this is not your first show.

Liam always seems to deliver his lines with much appreciated clarity. They never come too fast that you have difficulty understanding. This is evidenced early on when he responds to Grandma “You are going to drive me mental!” I have heard this line delivered unintelligible in the past so Liam’s clear and patient voice is a real plus in his acting bag.

The audience matched the near freezing cold from outside though as reactions throughout the first act were a bit subdued. The man sitting next to me was actually taking a nap through the first 20 minutes or so! Nevertheless, the reactions picked up to at least a respectable level by the show’s end. No standing O for Electricity but Liam flashed his winning smile at the final pose to bring long applause. The standing ovation did not come until the end of the finale with Liam appearing in front of the Billy sign. Even then it took a long time for half, then two thirds and then finally almost all of the audience to be on their feet (except my sleepy seatmate who at least seemed conscious for most of the show after his snoozing start).

A few more show observations:
*Joel Hatch as George is certainly one with his character. From the first boxing scene all the way through to his last scene with Billy, he gives an admirable and memorable performance.
*Will Chase as Tony is about as good as it can get. He brings the much needed anger to the role in a way that you really do have feelings for what he is going through too.
*I have noticed several times that in one of the ending scenes where Billy is hoisted up on his dad’s shoulders and is surrounded by the miners there is some good-natured jostling going on between Billy and his dad. The view is blocked from most sight lines but on this night I could see Liam poking away at Philip who had a big smile on his face. This may be a little celebration going on between the two of them.

A few more memories:
*Early evening on Saturday, I was walking behind someone on the street with a jacket that on the back said “Spastic Starfish.” Sure enough it was Tessa Netting in her modified Billy jacket.
*Jake Evan Schwenke impressed me as a very mature and polite young man. I had left the theater belatedly one evening and walking down 44th street I ran into Jake. I commented on his great performance and he responded with a big smile and a “thank you.” I think this way of handling the public goes through all of the young performers as they go out of their way to be respectful and generous with their little free time.

I have now departed the beautiful city of New York and sadly my next show here will have to wait until later in the year. I hope to have a Chicago trip to make up the slack. Thanks to all for reading my little reviews!
User avatar
ERinVA
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 17964
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:33 am
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by ERinVA »

Thanks to you for writing them!
Ellen



"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983


To follow the forum's Twitter at http://twitter.com/BEForum, click on the direct link in Applies to All Forums above.
Todd
Dad
Posts: 1664
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 6:05 am
Location: Kansas City, USA

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by Todd »

gpcolo wrote:The man sitting next to me was actually taking a nap through the first 20 minutes or so!
I'm always amazed at stuff like this. When I was at the 1st Preview Performance in Chicago a week and a half ago, the guy sitting 2 seats to my left kept turning on his cell phone and checking text messages. Needless to say it was very distracting when you're sitting in a dark theater and suddenly see a blue light come on. His wife (or girlfriend) kept reaching over and putting her hand over the light of the phone screen and telling him to shut the phone off.

I got the feeling he was there against his will, but it was too bad to see him ignore the cell phone message that's made beforehand . . . as well as not paying attention to the show when people sitting up in the balcony would have loved to have been in his 4th row seat !
User avatar
porschesrule
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 9368
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2009 2:02 am
Location: Rhode Island, USA

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by porschesrule »

porschesrule wrote:Musical Fanatic wrote:
This has made the show even more personal to me.


Excellent point, Sam. It's a shame that something can't be done in London to give the show's fans there that same experience. I'm very aware of the reasons for the restrictions, but as someone pointed a while ago on this forum, there are ways it could be handled while still keeping the kids safe.
When I stated that opinion in my earlier post, I chose to be brief, as I didn’t feel a discussion of the lack of fan exposure to the cast at the VPT belonged in the Broadway Reviews thread of the Forum. I made the comment here, however, because of Musical Fanatic’s observation in his review of the NY show.

Obviously the brevity of my comment, however, led to some misinterpretations of what I was attempting to say as was evidenced in a couple of subsequent posts made in reply.

In my comment, I referred to observations and suggestions that had been made earlier and elsewhere in the Forum. Specifically that thread may be found here: http://www.billyelliottheforum.me.uk/fo ... r&start=10

I will further continue this observation and clarify my statement there for anyone interested.
Moby-Dick
Tall Boy
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:02 pm
Location: New York

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by Moby-Dick »

gpcolo wrote:I have now departed the beautiful city of New York and sadly my next show here will have to wait until later in the year. I hope to have a Chicago trip to make up the slack. Thanks to all for reading my little reviews!
Many thanks to YOU, gpcolo, for taking the time to write so many reviews! They were a joy to read, and I'm glad you had such a good stay in New York and got to see so many BETM performances. :mrgreen:

x
M-D
gpcolo
George
Posts: 561
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by gpcolo »

Moby-Dick wrote:Many thanks to YOU, gpcolo, for taking the time to write so many reviews! They were a joy to read, and I'm glad you had such a good stay in New York and got to see so many BETM performances.
Thanks M-D. I hope others will take my lead and write many reviews so that I can get my B.E. fix before my next visit.
User avatar
CJ-Rochester
Site Moderator
Site Moderator
Posts: 4671
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:35 am
Location: Rochester, NY

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by CJ-Rochester »

gpcolo wrote:I hope others will take my lead and write many reviews so that I can get my B.E. fix before my next visit.
Thanks again for writing these great reviews gpcolo. I have a 3 show spree scheduled two weeks from now, and will definitely post some reviews then.
:/
gpcolo
George
Posts: 561
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by gpcolo »

CJ-Rochester wrote:...I have a 3 show spree scheduled two weeks from now, and will definitely post some reviews then.
Thanks CJ and I am looking forward to reading your reviews.
User avatar
angelenroute
Billy
Posts: 3831
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:05 am
Location: Malverne (Long Island), NY

Re: March 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by angelenroute »

gpcolo wrote:
CJ-Rochester wrote:...I have a 3 show spree scheduled two weeks from now, and will definitely post some reviews then.
Thanks CJ and I am looking forward to reading your reviews.
You'll pass me again CJ-Rochester! =) Had my lucky 13th time today with my friend Christian from Germany. Will write a full review as soon as I can this week or next, but as it was my first time seeing both Michael Dameski and Jake, I want to say right away that I loved them both. Jake has a very confident way about him...you look into his adorably elvish (in a good way) face and see mischief in a funny and inspiring way, like he owns the stage and hasn't a fear in the world. And Michael, wow! His angry dance, complete with an endless scream at the end, combined with the great anger and sadness he brings to the role throughout the show, was soooooo impressive!

Sean

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
Locked

Return to “Reviews Archive”