June 2010 - Reviews - London

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JohnCougar
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June 2010 - Reviews - London

Post by JohnCougar »

Have split off the following posts from the May thread to create this thread for London June reviews. (ERinVA)

June 1, 2010
Billy - Rhys Yeomans
Michael - Joe Massey
Debbie - Fleur Houdijk

Having seen Genevieve in Sydney, it was great to see her back on stage again. I agree that her acting is great and she puts in a lot of special touches. I especially like the way she says, "That is complete b...sh.. and you know it" to Billy. It's just funny to me how she delivers that line. I remember feeling the same way back in Sydney.

The crowd really loved Joe Massey and I think he's great as well. But he was cracking up a bit as Billy walked off down the aisle as the curtain came down in the final scene and also has been riding off on the bike before the curtain is all the way lowered. Maybe he's been told to do that, but it's much better to me when Michael stays put until he is out of sight at the end.

It was my first time seeing Rhys and he is a very solid Billy. He was in perfect form during the closing flourish of Solidarity (which not many Billy's hit perfectly) and did a 'wicked' job of skipping rope in b2b. He really seemed to like the new version...as best I could tell. He had one of the longest pauses ever after Fleur asked him the big question...quite funny.

It was my final night in London for the year and I wasn't planning to go to BETM tonight. I had a Row A ticket for Oliver!, but once I saw that a Billy that I hadn't seen was on.....I had to skip out on Dodger and the gang and buy a last minute ticket for Billy. I'm glad I did, of course.
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ERinVA
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Re: May 2010 - Reviews UK - London

Post by ERinVA »

It was my final night in London for the year and I wasn't planning to go to BETM tonight. I had a Row A ticket for Oliver!, but once I saw that a Billy that I hadn't seen was on.....I had to skip out on Dodger and the gang and buy a last minute ticket for Billy. I'm glad I did, of course.
Ah, yes, I've done that before... except in my case it was Lord of the Rings I skipped. Based on the reviews of that show, probably a good thing. 8-)
Ellen



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KeefyM
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Re: May 2010 - Reviews UK - London

Post by KeefyM »

I agree with everything John has said above about Tuesday nights show, It was a great show tonight
(apart from one scene - I wonder if you can guess which one ?).
Naughty Joe was laughing during the final scene & almost burst into laughter in Express after the "people will think you're mental" line.

Rhys was fantastic, his Electricity was outstanding, really powerful stuff from him tonight.
For me the person that stood out was Fleur, she was fantastic, a truly great and perfect performance tonight, she is one of the best Debbie's ever.

I also agree with Pinknick and Chris about Genevieve, as after seeing her twice she also reminds me of Julie Walters in the film.

Born to Boogie was still bloody awful tonight.
Both Mr B & Mrs W got tangled up in the skipping ropes, only Rhys managed to get through it without any problems.
That looked really great - two professional actors caught up in skipping ropes & having to recover the scene.
Again the only good thing about it was Billy's skipping - a great job by Rhys tonight.
Oh and I agree with some forum members who were at the show tonight who said that Mrs W wearing the boxing gloves is absolutely pointless
& does not make sense since she has shown no previous interest in Boxing either in BETM or in the film & Billy doesn't like boxing.
Plus she goes rummaging for the boxing gloves in Billy's bag and it looks rubbish.

Thank you PaulWilly, I agree with your comment & glad someone else thinks they have now destroyed the great London B2B with an inferior version. It is disjointed & all over the place & does not flow as well as the original, plus neither does the new version of the toilet scene between Billy & Debbie due to the dialogue changes and where Debbie now stands, which actually looks a bit too provocative/sexual for kids of that age, like she is definitely about to lift her skirt & show Billy her f****.

In Express, will someone please tell me what the thinking is by removing various Billy & Michael lines such as Billys "Well what do you reckon", with Michael responding "You're gonna look cush", then Billy says, "For christ sake, do you think I should go back and do the audition?". Now none of that dialogue is there , Michael just puts the patchwork top on Billy, crosses back to the mirror & then Billy just says "Should I go back and do the audition".

The new B2B makes Mr B look like a spare part. I said in earlier posts that I may warm to it, well, it is going to take a hell of a long time, so at the moment I will stick with what I said on Monday night - it is awful & bring back the original version(including the funky chicken).

Thankfully, Rhys didn't do the "hand gesture" tonight, so either he forgot, or hopefully it is gone for good already.

I'm sorry but with dialogue not flowing & the awfulness that is B2B, as I am a Television Producer & have worked in Theatre as well, they way the show is at the moment, I could produce it better with my eyes shut. If you're reading this production company - give me a job as a producer on Billy.

I still love Billy, but at the moment there is one scene in it which has got me ranting & raving at the interval the last two nights and unfortunately will do for quite a while yet. (In fact, never mind John not going to Oliver tonight, come the end of B2B I was wishing I had a ticket for Oliver so I wouldn't have to watch the god awful and inferior disjointed mess that B2B has now become from the great original).

However, as I said, it was a great show tonight, with great performances by all, including Genevieve and Isaac & Paddy the new Tall & Small boys, with Paddy again using the scythe as a guitar in Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher as pointed out by Billy Whiz. It is hilarious.
There were a few sound issues throughout with lines lost again due to mics not working, but the performances by all the principal cast certainly made up for it & these were minor technical things which you would expect in live theatre anyway.

There was a very appreciative audience in tonight & the show ended with a well deserved standing ovation for Rhys & the cast.

I will eventually get round to writing my reviews of Monday night's show and the great Saturday night show
(even greater now since it turned out to be the last one with the original B2B in it).

Keep the reviews coming folks.


Cheers
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Re: May 2010 - Reviews UK - London

Post by Musical Fanatic »

KeefyM wrote
In Express, will someone please tell me what the thinking is by removing various Billy & Michael lines
Sadly this is something that the creative team did to Chicago first. Then they did it to NY. Finally now to London. If you get bored or interested you can see my reviews and rants about this and other changes :D :lol: Or the many recent reviews done in Chicago and NY by forum members.

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Meagan312
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Re: June 2010 - Reviews UK - London

Post by Meagan312 »

What are the changes in the toilet scene with Debbie and Billy?
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Clazzimay
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Re: June 2010 - Reviews UK - London

Post by Clazzimay »

Oh dear, this doesn't sound good at all. Why mess with a winning formula?
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Deanfan5
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Re: June 2010 - Reviews UK - London

Post by Deanfan5 »

KeefyM has outlined very well the main issues from last night's show. Rhys gave a very good performance overall especially in 'The Letter.' Move over Tom we really do have a new Mr Emotional here. The ladies sitting next to me were in floods and again at the end. With Rhys there is a nice mix of 'innocence'and 'otherworldlyness' is his portrayal of Billy that is totally engaging and captivating from the moment he walks on stage to when he wanders up the aisle with his suitcase at the end. As such the 'hand gesture' (seen on Monday but not thankfully last night) in B2B from him would not only have been totally out of character with his portrayal of Billy but also potentially bordering on the gross. I totally agee with KeefyM that Mr Braithwaite is the main casualty of the new routine. He just does not fit in any more and the fun aspects from Mr B in the previous B2B are really now conspicuous by their absence. Fortunately Rhys rescued this somewaht disjointed routine by some excellent skipping and very neat balletic moves in the new dance routine. If the skipping ropes get tangled up as they did last night the whole scene can feel like a pastiche gone terribly wrong.
Two other aspects also concern me. The cubicle scene with Debbie and Billy has now moved from teasing childhood fun to something bordering on the tacky. Why does Debbie have to move centre stage, look around and confront Billy in a body language way that seems to suggest that her invitation to view might become actual reality? The apparent need to sexualise Debbie has occured twice before in the history of the show and both times was toned down or dropped. I personally hope this scene element has the same fate.
I would also like to see a little more growing warmth towards Billy from Mrs Wilkinson. The 'shock and awe' and the slow realisation of potential genius is not there nor is the empathic sensitivity well demonstrated by Joanna Riding. When Billy hugs Mrs Wilkinson it does not therefore seem the expression of a developing mutuality of feeling as we had portrayed so well before.
Last night's show was however totally enjoyable in large measure because it was led by another superlative and masterful performance from Rhys. Truly an old head on young shoulders.
A postscript note must also go to Paddy the new small boy. For his second show totally excellent and some very clever interpretative ideas. His line diction is also very clear. Well done.
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dwallen
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Re: June 2010 - Reviews UK - London

Post by dwallen »

I saw the show on Monday evening and was taken aback by the new B2B which I was certainly not expecting. I have to say that I liked the new orchestrations and I think this gave it a more dynamic feel. However, I need to see it again to judge whether I like the new choreography. Like others I am not sure about the skipping ropes or the use of the gloves by Mrs Wilkinson. Time will tell. What I am uneasy about is the fact that it has been imported from the US. Surely we have our own (and usually better) ideas here where the show originated after all. I will, however, reserve my judgement on it. In fact it gives me more reasons to see the show again in the near future! I liked G L as Mrs Wilkinson. She gave a different performance from any of the previous ones.

I did not like the way the f...y scene was changed. Quite unnecessary in my view and unsuitable.
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patc
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Re: June 2010 - Reviews - London

Post by patc »

Thursday Matinee 3rd June

Ollie, Joe, Fleur
Mrs. W: Caroline
Mr. B: Phil

Another thrilling, moving, exciting and superbly controlled performance by Super-Ollie this afternoon ending with the usual enthusiastic standing ovation. Like previous Senior Billys he is absolutely at the top of his game and he makes it all look so easy but, of course, we all know it isn't.

I've just noticed in the Tracking Billy thread that Ollie, having done Saturday matinee has, so far this week, done Monday, Wed, and both shows today!!! What incredible dedication and stamina.

The changes to the show that have come about this week were all taken in their stride. It must be quite difficult, having done things in a certain way for so long to have to change to something almost completely different but he didn't bat an eyelid.

Apart from the enjoyment of the show itself it was enormous fun trying to spot the changes both to music and the scenes. There were some small changes to some of the scenes, in some cases just changes in positions taken on stage, eg. The Boxing Scene was "spread out" a bit more with Tall Boy exiting through the middle left door instead of the red one, the Toilet Scene didn't have Debbie climbing up but, instead, taking up a position towards the front of stage so the audience could see Billys face straight on instead of sideways when he exits from the cubicle.

The big talking point is B2B. I thought it was great and will be very successful but it probably will be a bit hit and miss where the skipping is concerned. It was the same on Broadway when I was there. Sometimes the skipping was 100% and next show it would not quite be. Phil Snowden was just so funny on the rope...and on the piano. I was in fits of laughter. Caroline looked lively but Ollie showed them a thing or two about skipping and looked to be having immense fun. When it was over my immediate feeling was that I'd love to see them repeat it. You need three eyes to watch it (From Row C anyway) because there is so much movement across the stage. I thought I detected a change in the manner that Phil picked up Ollie but will have to check that again. It all happened so fast. The B2B music has very definitely changed.

There was so much to enjoy. The ever more confident Joe blossoming out as Michael after only a few weeks, the exquisite Fleur who, in a flawless performance, got the biggest laugh I have ever heard for that moment when Debbie interrupts Mum in the Snow scene. The new Ballet Girls were terrific, Tall Boy and Small Boy were perfect in their roles and the adult cast (still short a few) maintained the brilliant standards they have set since the big cast change.

Once again the Company has freshened things up and will keep us wanting more and more. Rich entertainment all round and thanks to Ollie and the entire cast for making yet another Thursday a very special day.

Pat
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ERinVA
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Re: June 2010 - Reviews - London

Post by ERinVA »

Thanks for a great review, pat. :D
the Toilet Scene didn't have Debbie climbing up but, instead, taking up a position towards the front of stage so the audience could see Billys face straight on instead of sideways when he exits from the cubicle.


That is interesting. It sounds like a good idea to have reblocked it so that the audience can see Billy's expression when Debbie makes her offer. I am curious about the audience reaction.
Ellen



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