June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Rasputin
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by Rasputin »

Dang Sean this is one heck of a piece of writing! I am so glad that I was a part of it and got to dance in the same room...just a few feet away from 2 tony award winners!! I am not even going to attempt at a review as it could not compare with yours!.....so instead I will head over to my living room....move the coffee table....and practice "my little ponies" ;)

-Ras
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StevenKing
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by StevenKing »

angelenroute wrote:When everyone’s kicking left and you’re kicking right, you can’t help but feel you’re making a total buffoon of yourself.
Sounds like you and I were doing exactly the same thing. :lol:
-Chris[/quote]

Thank God I wasnt the only one. That was simply the best review EVER!!

Steven
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StevenKing
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by StevenKing »

My little ponies...look SO simple but will haunt me for LIFE!!!

Steven
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Billy Whiz
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by Billy Whiz »

Wow!!!!

Fantastic stuff Sean.

To say I am jealous of all the people who attended the workshop is the biggest understatement since Noah said it looked like rain :D
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StevenKing
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by StevenKing »

Billy Whiz wrote:Wow!!!!

Fantastic stuff Sean.

To say I am jealous of all the people who attended the workshop is the biggest understatement since Noah said it looked like rain :D
Thats ok BW...at least your nights are not interrupted by nightmares of ponies..evil I say!

Steven
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HugsY2k
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by HugsY2k »

Great review Sean 8-) -I dare not get in the way of the writing pros. :o (attn: phoebe)
angelenroute wrote:Part 2 of 4…
Special thanks to hugsy2k for making this happen. You are one of the show’s greatest champions and cheerleaders, and we’re all so lucky to know you and call you our friend! This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you!
:oops: :oops: :oops: Awwww. See what happens when you complain why must everything be for kids. :D

On a side note, I already have a list of names for the next workshop!
Date is NOT confirmed but aiming for Fri Oct. 8.
Keep a watch in a week or so for a post here and/or tweet OR feel free to DM me your full name and email for workshop updates.
Broadway/London/US Tour, including Canada
Performances Attended: a number between 150-200 :)
Billys: 32
Michaels: 20

last update: June 2013
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angelenroute
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by angelenroute »

HugsY2k wrote:Great review Sean 8-) ...Awwww. See what happens when you complain why must everything be for kids. :D

On a side note, I already have a list of names for the next workshop!
Date is NOT confirmed but aiming for Fri Oct. 8.
Keep a watch in a week or so for a post here and/or tweet OR feel free to DM me your full name and email for workshop updates.
I will be signing up for that one too if at all possible...although I'm guessing demand will be higher...thank you linda and all for the cool responses here and on friends of billy...very nice of you!

for the record it took me 2.5 hours to write part 2 lol ... have to write parts 3 and 4 tomorrow and Friday at work to cover reviews of dayton's show and jacob's show ...and then will have a review for this coming friday's show sometime this weekend too...seeing it with/thanks to bdbop and the ohio wrestlers, that should be fun to hear their reactions! will make a fun review =)
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angelenroute
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by angelenroute »

holy crap facebook peeps, check out the pic alex was just tagged in from stage door...you can really see the difference of what I meant below...still adorable but no longer a "small boy" =)
angelenroute wrote: BILLY: Alex Ko
Michael: Jake Evan Schwencke


...Alex no longer looks like a little boy but now looks like a typical young teenager. Not tall or anything yet, but filling out more and just growing up (hopefully slowly). I wish him many more months in the role.
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ERinVA
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by ERinVA »

This photo really confirms that: http://www.daylife.com/photo/029tdiCbZ10aQ
Ellen



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angelenroute
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Re: June 2010 Reviews - NYC

Post by angelenroute »

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Part 3 of 4

BILLY: Dayton Tavares
MICHAEL: David Bologna

A few things to make note of at the very start of this next part of my review: Not only was this my first time seeing Dayton, and my first time experiencing a Billython, having only seen one show at a time in the past, but it was also my first time seeing David Bologna perform on stage, like, ever. I know. If that weren’t enough in and of itself, this was also pre-destined to be one of those few EXTRA special shows that you get in your life due to what had happened in the hours before the show.

When you have just been in a small room for two hours with a couple of the stars of Billy Elliot The Musical, dancing with them and learning from them, laughing with them and panting with them (okay so I panted, they didn’t pant at all), you really do have a newfound respect for every step they take in the show. Which is why when Tessa…

Actually, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me backtrack a bit first.

I was sitting in seat B9, the lip of the stage inches in front of me. I could literally taste the floor cleaning solution; although I worried I’d get a splinter on my tongue, so I pulled my face away. People were staring. I felt strange.

Sorry, don’t mind me. =)

Dayton was on and within minutes I was mesmerized. This was now my 15th time seeing the show, and I was absolutely blown away by Dayton Tavares as Billy. His acting was unbelievable. Very strong, Northern England tough kid but with a very funny, very relaxed way about him. If acting were the only career Dayton ever had from next year onward, he’d have absolutely no trouble getting roles left and right. He was fantastic! Add the completely incomparable David Bologna to the stage and it was like the thrill of seeing this show just got an added boost of adrenaline and became bigger than life.

Everything I have ever heard of David Bologna is true. I would see him the following afternoon too, and he was wonderful. The simplest way I can put it though is a way I wouldn’t have thought of until seeing him perform in person: David Bologna IS Michael Caffrey. Just as we say a certain Billy, like, for example, Trent Kowalik, IS Billy Elliot, David Bologna completely possesses the body of Michael Caffrey and you have no doubt in your mind that you are watching Michael on stage, and not an actor. If Billy Elliot The Movie becomes so much more real and realized in the stage production of Billy Elliot The Musical, the same can be said for watching--no--EXPERIENCING David Bologna as Michael Caffrey live on stage. It is as if the character is a real person, and he’s playing himself on stage for a short run. Now I will add that I have laughed harder at other boys playing Michael, and I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone I’ve seen in the role. I even have favorites other than David Bologna. But when I saw David perform as Michael, I had nothing but complete absorption into his role and a complete knowing that this before me was Michael Caffrey, Billy Elliot’s best friend. Now I’m no dancer (something I re-learned recently) and I can only barely sing half-decently. But acting is in my blood, as is directing, and I am very good at perceiving an actor or a person becoming a part. There have been some incredible child actors perform in the Broadway show. Trent Kowalik and Dayton Tavares have been fantastic examples of this. But when you watch David Bologna on stage, it’s like you are watching a seasoned actor with at least 20 years of experience. To realize subsequently that he is only a teenager (because your brain has forgotten), it’s as if you have been tricked. No, that can’t be. He’s signing my Playbill but look at him, he’s just a bairn for Christ’s sake! Even though I knew beforehand that he was the age he was, and I certainly knew the role itself very well, I was just blown away at how freaking good he was. And David’s sad goodbye at the end of the show was as close to the soundtrack’s beautiful take as I’ve ever experienced, and it really moved me to tears both times I saw it.

Still on an emotional high from our workshop, we filled the Imperial that night with newfound appreciation for what the actors do day in and day out on that stage. We only learned a few steps from a small part of the finale, yet the choreography in this show blows away all others. Every move in Grandma’s song and Solidarity alone exemplify this. If we think we had it rough learning those steps from the finale, imagine how many of us would have been able to learn the steps that the miners and policemen show off in Solidarity! Holy crap those guys are good!

As a group, we decided before the show began that when Tessa Netting was called a spastic starfish and when Thommie comes in for Born To Boogie, we would cheer for both of them like they’ve never been cheered for before. Each was, dear readers, an experience in theatre that united actors and fans, audience and characters in 2 beautiful moments that will never be forgotten. Our cheers for Tessa produced instant reaction from her, not in any way breaking character. Instead, I have never seen her make more funny over-the-top reactions and facial expressions on stage. It was awesome and I couldn’t stop giggling from my seat. Even though most of you have already read her version of all of this, I want to re-post it here. Read this snippet as a reminder for the next time you see Billy Elliot The Musical. We are not just watching our favorite show, we have the ability, from the comfort of our seats, to elicit pure awesomeness from the actors AND of course more importantly to show them how much we appreciate everything they do on stage!

…THE MOST EPIC, INSANE show EVER. Seriously the most fun show I’ve had onstage in a LONG time. The audience (with so many members from the workshop) was *cue Opera voice* AMAZINGGGGGG. Feeding off of them was like…CHRISTMAS MORNING! Twas magical. I got spastic starfish applause for the first time EVER which made me uber happy. :D :D :D :D :D . Made my life. Seriously. THIS is why I am on Broadway. For moments like this.

Thank you Billy fans for making this show so successful and filling the audience tonight with joy and love. I love you all.


And the second moment came as a big surprise to Thommie Retter. He helped organize the cheer for Tessa, but he didn’t know we would give him one as well. And let me tell you, he was really, really, really touched by it. At stage door, he told us it was one of the greatest moments he’s ever had on stage, feeling the thrill a headliner star gets with the cheer we gave him. He looked us each in the eye and made sure we all knew how grateful he was to us for that unexpected moment of love. Both Tessa and Thommie have taken so much time with us superfans since the show opened--well, really since first preview as Thommie joined us at the Edison that evening for dinner before the show!

Everything about the show that night was electric and epic. The first act was the best first act I have ever experienced. I couldn’t contain myself and told this to a few of the other forum members, one of whom, a fellow Team Trent member who lives in the same town as me on Long Island, suggested I might not make it into her car for the ride home. Rest assured, I’m still very much Team Trent! =) But Dayton’s first act was one for the books in my opinion. Those Aussie boys are both amazing! All of the boys are amazing!

I have shorter reviews still to write and post about Jacob on Saturday the 26th and about Liam who I caught this past Friday the 2nd. But I have to just say at the close of this part of my review, I have thoroughly enjoyed all 5 of the current Broadway Billys. Though there are a couple of tweaks that could perhaps help here and there, it seems very clear (to me) that this month and next will be the pinnacle of their time on Broadway as Billy Elliot. Each of them gives so much to the part and each of them touched me in different ways. Michael’s passion shook me as did his earth-shattering Angry Dance, Alex was the funniest and completely delightful, Dayton’s acting is incredible and invigorating, Jacob’s Billy was sweeter than many and his Letter scene had me crying more than any other ever has, and Liam was equally delightful and a complete pleasure to watch perform.

So if you haven’t been in a while, this summer is a great time to get back to the show and see it again! David Bologna is in the show through August 8th, Greg Jbara is back as Dad, and there are a bunch of new people in the show, all great, including a new Debbie, Georgi James, who is wonderful! So do yourself a big favor. Come back again soon! And BE Inspired all over again!

Sean
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