May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

gpcolo
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by gpcolo »

May 7 J.P./Gabe
May 8 Tommy/Gabe
My work brought me close enough to Chicago that I took the L train into town for 2 nights and caught up with the new production of my favorite musical.

A few observations first though:
1. The Oriental is quite massive, as others have noted. It is visually one of the more strikingly beautiful theaters I have ever seen. It is also very comfortable with plenty of legroom, at least from the orchestra perspective I had (A101 and C103). I really liked the view from the Orchestra but it looked like the front balcony would be a good second choice. I didn't see much advantage to sitting in the dress circle-seemed too far away tucked in the back below the balcony. There are also ample places to eat in a variety of price ranges within a block of the theater.

2. With the stage higher than The Imperial in NYC, the conductor is also more visible. (Note: sitting in either row AA or A center you will not quite be able to see the stage floor. B or farther back there is no problem). I noticed the conductor at both shows visibly saying the words to many of the songs. He may in fact have been just silently mouthing the words to help the orchestra with pacing...I don't know but it was something I had not seen before. Regardless, the orchestra sounded perfect both nights.

3. There has been a predictable pattern developing in the Chicago Billy rotation. This allowed me to correctly guess in advance which Billy would be on the board for my show on Friday and Saturday nights. Whoever did the Tuesday night show also has done the Friday night show (This has been consistent the past 4 weeks). And whoever did the Wed night show ends up doing the Saturday night show. No guarantee this will last but it was nice being right for once. I don’t recall seeing the Billy line-up in New York being this consistent, as it always seemed to be more random.

4. I struck up a conversation with a lady and her daughter at intermission. They were seeing the show first the first time and had plenty of questions: How long has this been playing in the U.S.? Where did they find these talented kids? How come so many "understudies"? etc., etc. I patiently answered each one and finally the lady asked me if I was some sort of a director. I laughed and explained I had seen the show more than once (9 times now) and had learned a lot about the show in less than 2 years. She and her daughter looked rather shocked that anyone would see a play that many times. After the show was over she leaned over to tell me she understood my thinking a lot better now!

The two shows went off perfectly both nights (80% full on Friday night and not a seat in the house left on Saturday). I will cast off some observations about both shows:

J.P.'s voice is sparkling clear and during his songs he displays a nice sweet tone. His facial expressions from Shine all the way through Solidarity showed his full range of emotions- from frustration to full exhilaration. J.P. nailed both of his big numbers. Angry Dance showed his expert tapping skills and with time will become even more explosive. Electricity was also strong with a long applause at the end.

J.P.'s acting highlights included a perfect wait time in response to Debbie's question in which he follows with a high pitched "Nahhhhhh." His response to Dad after being pulled from Ballet class was also played out with perfection both in his delivery and timing. The audience was pretty subdued but came alive at the end with a nice standing ovation for J.P.- who couldn't have looked more joyful during the finale.

Gabe as Michael was pure joy to watch. Could we be seeing another gifted performer in the likes of David Bologna developing here? I would say a definite YES! I heard many audience members discussing this boy's take on the character. His timing was spot on and he exhibits an excellent singing voice. He has this devious little grin that shows itself in Expressing Yourself and it helps to make his character portrayal so believable. His mini finale at the end of Expressing Yourself is fantastic. He blows on his “too hot” index finger as if it is a torch and then shaking his shoulders he comically displays a hilarious expression on his own face bringing in howls and screams from the crowd.

It is a pleasure watching these kids develop into the role. They start out being very good to great as Billy or Michael and then after months of rehearsals and performances, they move into another whole realm of awe inspiring acting, singing, and dancing. This could not be more evident than with Tommy who I first saw early in his Broadway run. He was so good then but now he has turned it up several notches higher.

Tommy Batchelor IS Billy Elliot. In every scene, through every dance and song, and through every muscle in his body, Tommy is in total command of this role and the audience eats it up. What a joy to watch this gifted young man soak up the adoration of more than 2000 new converts after Angry Dance, Electricity, and the finale. His facial expressions have gotten more demonstrative and go from being hilarious in the boxing scenes and those with Debbie to heartwarming and sad in scenes with his Mum, Grandma, and Dad. I would expect to look up "perfection" in the dictionary and see a picture of Tommy for he has mastered the role and attained his superior status. Go see him before the inevitable happens and he outgrows the show. It will be 3 hours you will never forget.

The roles of Mrs. W, Dad, Grandma, and Tony are all played expertly. Emily Skinner is especially fine as Mrs. W and I can only compare her with some of the best (Haydn and Kate). I loved her raised voice in response to Billy's "What?" in B to B. Her facial expressions in response to discovering Billy's dancing ability and later realizing Billy's hesitation in attending the RBS were superb. It shows how acting is just as important during the moments when an actor is not singing or speaking any lines.

Armand Schultz as dad seems to be very comfortable in his role. He doesn't get quite the number of laughs as others I have seen (Greg & Phil in NYC), especially in the scene with the Scottish dancer, but time will certainly allow him to develop more with these scenes. I can't wait to see him again in a few months.

I thought the changes for the Chicago production worked well. That includes the re-staging of the miners going down in the ground (a curtain comes down to hide them though they are lower with the miners' hats at just above stage level when this occurs). The bedroom comes in from the right when needed but doesn't take center stage, instead staying to the right half of the stage. Billy even starts the boxing scene on the lower stairs of the bedroom while George reminds him he is late for the session. It also doesn't even make an appearance when Billy comes home to find his Royal Ballet letter. At that point it is not needed as Billy faces the audience while reading the acceptance letter (very effective).

The start of the second act brings small boy down aisle 2 and Billy, Michael, and Tall boy down aisle 1. The small boy puts his bucket on the stage and climbs the attached "3 or 4 step" stepladder while the other boys go up the stairs on the left. I wanted to put a few dollars into the bucket but the little guy was moving too fast and was focused on getting up the ladder. (This is the same ladder Billy uses along with his suitcase at the end of act 2.)

The Postman yells “post” from center stage with grandma coming in to take the letter from him. Dad and Tony then join her and then all four of them are staring at the letter until looks of “This is no business of yours!” drives the postman out of the scene.

Billy, while on his dad's shoulders in the final scene before they go back down the mine, wears his dad's miner's hat and shines it at various sections of the theater. As Dad walks to the back of the stage with the rest of the miners, he then walks back to Billy and takes his miner's hat back. I thought this was a nice touch and subtly showed that Dad was finally O.K with Billy not becoming a miner and instead letting him pursue his own dream.

No one knows for sure how long the show will be in Chicago but I am sure they are using it as a test vehicle when another cast begins touring later this year. I will be back in Chicago in September and hope to see the show again as it matures and readies itself for other cities.

Thanks for making it through this unintended long review!
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porschesrule
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

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gpcolo wrote:Thanks for making it through this unintended long review!
No. No. THANK YOU for taking the time to write it. It was wonderful. I especially liked your comments about the theater and your observations about how the Chicago production is staged differently in places than you've seen in New York.

Sounds like the cast in Chicago is settling in to their roles in fine fashion and, as you've observed, will only get even better over time.
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olivejuice
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by olivejuice »

I was also at Saturday night's show! I agree Chicago has been pretty consistent with their schedule as of late, which enabled me to guess correctly in seeing Tommy, which means I have now seen all four Chicago Billys. Tommy was a joy to watch and I am so glad I had to opportunity to see him. I'm also glad I got the chance to see Gabe again, as it took me a bit to warm up to him at first but he really does a great job as Michael.

One thing to note, there were a few understudies on Saturday night--Susie McMonagle performed the role of Mrs. Wilkinson, and as she is usually the Dead Mum, that role was played by Susan Haefner and Kate Marilley took over her role as Clipboard Woman. I thought Susie was great as Mrs. W, she plays the role a bit more understated than Emily Skinner at times but it works well. Also Madison Barnes was on as Debbie and she was a little firecracker, she has just the right amount of attitude for the part and her size makes it so funny because she is pretty small, and standing next to Tommy she only went up to about his shoulders.

I am happy that I've had the opportunity to see this show as many times as I have in Chicago, and have somehow turned this week into a bit of a Billy week, as I thought Saturday would be my last performance for a long while, but I now have plans to go Wednesday and Thursday night as well!
London: Ollie-1, Dean-Charles-1, Tom-1
Chicago: Cesar-2, JP-2, Giuseppe-1, Tommy-3, Marcus-1
gpcolo
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by gpcolo »

olivejuice wrote:One thing to note, there were a few understudies on Saturday night--
I got so long winded in my review that I never covered this topic so thanks for completing my next thought! We could have compared notes on the show if I had known another forum member would be in attendance.

Anyway, I hope you will post some more thoughts as your BillyWeek continues.
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olivejuice
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by olivejuice »

It was very spur of the moment once I realized Tommy would probably be on, I just went and got rush tickets that morning. But yes it would've been nice to compare notes! I'm not so good with reviews but I'll try to give a few thoughts on the other shows this week.
London: Ollie-1, Dean-Charles-1, Tom-1
Chicago: Cesar-2, JP-2, Giuseppe-1, Tommy-3, Marcus-1
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

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porschesrule wrote:
gpcolo wrote:Thanks for making it through this unintended long review!
No. No. THANK YOU for taking the time to write it. It was wonderful. I especially liked your comments about the theater and your observations about how the Chicago production is staged differently in places than you've seen in New York.

Sounds like the cast in Chicago is settling in to their roles in fine fashion and, as you've observed, will only get even better over time.
I agree with porchesrule. Thank you for the nice Chicago review.
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

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Sat May 15 2PM

Billy-Cesar
Michael-Gabe

This will be a short review for the moment. Came in Fri. for an unexpected meeting. Will not be flying out til late Mon. So off to Billy I have gone. Have seen 3 shows and will write more reviews. Must be a weekend for broken sets. I saw that Thommie Retter wrote about a problem on B-Way Fri night. Well for Sat Mat they had a couple of funny issues and one serious one. I would like to say how amazed I was at the improvisation that the cast did in the RBS Letter scene as well as when Billy tells Mrs W he got in. Wow is what comes to mind. The audience left wall with the double red doorway and windows got stuck in the retracted position after Electricity. :!: NO TABLE :!: to put the Letter on. Tony(Patrick Mulvey) had to hold it in his hands for Billy to do his William Elliot Esq. joke. He also had to improvise his dialogue(I'll hold it over here). It was very weird. No wall for Dad, Grandma or Tony to stand against. No door for Billy to come through. Billy had to walk in from off stage and pretend that he did not see them. Walk over to the cookie jar. Do his turn around and improvise from there. What a look on Cesar's face :D with no door to go to after saying goodbye to Mrs W. One last comment for tonight. Come see this company for its performances. They are hitting on almost all cylinders. Just understand that this is not NY or London. More to follow later.
Sam
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porschesrule
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

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Musical Fanatic wrote:Sat May 15 2PM

Billy-Cesar
Michael-Gabe

This will be a short review for the moment. Came in Fri. for an unexpected meeting. Will not be flying out til late Mon. So off to Billy I have gone. Have seen 3 shows and will write more reviews.
My, my Sam. You get around, don't you? :lol:

Here we are mourning you no longer writing BETM Broadway reviews and you pop up in Chicago for three shows. Can't wait. Bring on those reviews! :)
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olivejuice
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by olivejuice »

Musical Fanatic wrote: The audience left wall with the double red doorway and windows got stuck in the retracted position after Electricity.
I talked to one of the crew members, who said they were able to fix the wall just in time for the 8pm show! I was interested to hear how they improved everything and it sounds like the cast did a great job considering the situation. I will write more on this tonight once I am home and have time to write a proper review of the shows I saw Wed and Thurs, but I had the opportunity to have a backstage tour this week, which explained a lot of repercussions the wall problem would cause because all of the set pieces that move in from the wings are stored in the air! So if the wall was stuck in the retracted position there was probably no way to get to the table to even have the stage crew bring it on manually.

Thanks for the review Musical Fantastic, I look forward to hearing more about this weekend's shows.
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Re: May 2010 Reviews - Chicago

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Musical Fanatic wrote:Sat May 15 2PM

Billy-Cesar
Michael-Gabe

This will be a short review for the moment. Came in Fri. for an unexpected meeting. Will not be flying out til late Mon. So off to Billy I have gone. Have seen 3 shows and will write more reviews. Must be a weekend for broken sets. I saw that Thommie Retter wrote about a problem on B-Way Fri night. Well for Sat Mat they had a couple of funny issues and one serious one. I would like to say how amazed I was at the improvisation that the cast did in the RBS Letter scene as well as when Billy tells Mrs W he got in. Wow is what comes to mind. The audience left wall with the double red doorway and windows got stuck in the retracted position after Electricity. :!: NO TABLE :!: to put the Letter on. Tony(Patrick Mulvey) had to hold it in his hands for Billy to do his William Elliot Esq. joke. He also had to improvise his dialogue(I'll hold it over here). It was very weird. No wall for Dad, Grandma or Tony to stand against. No door for Billy to come through. Billy had to walk in from off stage and pretend that he did not see them. Walk over to the cookie jar. Do his turn around and improvise from there. What a look on Cesar's face :D with no door to go to after saying goodbye to Mrs W. One last comment for tonight. Come see this company for its performances. They are hitting on almost all cylinders. Just understand that this is not NY or London. More to follow later.
Sam
OK to pick where I left off last night. The show has definitely settled in to a rhythm. Very little change to the last show I saw in April a month ago. I felt more comfortable watching this cast for these four shows this weekend. Only a few things I would change if I could. I could say the same thing about NY. My recommendation would be to sit as close as you can center orchestra. Best sound and sight lines in the Oriental.

Star Look Down
They now have both SB's messing with the curtain as part of their routine. I like the part where Dad actually cooks a real egg. Big Davey pours the salt on his sandwich in Chicago. You can see it falling out of the bread. The piece of toast is used also. He really hams it up while shoving the sandwich in his mouth. The changes that they have made to Billy and Mum's interaction make sense to me. When Billy goes up the stairs to retrieve his trainers Mum folds up his pajamas and puts them on the stairs. Billy runs down with them realizes that she is not there. He runs back up the steps to look for her and then picks up the pajamas and says Mum. Here is a place that I like an added line(Sh*t I'm late)while Billy is standing on the steps when George and the boys come in for boxing. Michael is wearing these huge red boxing gloves. When he hits Billy and George it seems more believable now.

Shine/Solidarity
No real changes from NY accept for two less male ensemble(Only 12 police with two women and two less BG's only nine total) Both the Tracey Atkinson and Spastic Starfish standout in this production. They have toned down Susan Parks nuttiness :lol: since April. I do hate the line change when Tony gets hit by the policeman I prefer the f-bomb in the line.

We'd Go Dancing
Same as NY. Cynthia Darlow is a joy to watch as Grandma. To answer Dave all four Billy's do a good job here following Grandma and showing reaction.

Expressing Yourself
Gabe has the moves and the facial and vocal expressions down pat. Love the Elvis channeling. Cesar and Gabe are very good together.

Dear Billy
Cesar is not a real super emotional Billy like Jacob C but he does a good job for the most part.

BTB
As I have said in other reviews about Chicago. If they are going to keep the jump rope. I like that Mrs W does not join in til the end. It Makes it flow better and tend to go off better. Emily Skinner plays the role of Mrs W much tougher and less emotional. I have heard a lot of good comments about her.

Angry Dance
I am impressed with Patrick Mulvey as Tony. he shows a good range of emotions. I will not voice any complaints :roll: about sound or other things :lol: wrong. I would love to see Cesar even once at the Imperial with NY staging. The one big change that they could bring to NY is turning out the lights at the end of Angry Dance after the scream.

Merry Christmas M T
Don't even bother to try and slip something in the boys buckets. They are moving way to fast. It is funny as heck when George hits SB with the mike after he says yes to we are downhearted. SB puts the bucket over his head after his yes and George tapps it with the mike. The tanks air pump is super charged in Chicago :lol: I also like that they throw the puppets in the air at the end.

Dream Ballet
Cesar and Samuel Pergrande :) :) :) :) :!: :!: :!: :!:

Electricity
I need a ballet class so I can describe Cesar"s moves better with the right terminology(sigh).
He and Tommy do a combination move at the back of the stage( two jump spins) that are incredible when pulled off(Tommy slipped on Sat night and was not able to set up to do his second one. Alex is doing these moves in NY. I want to specifically mention Armand Shultz has dramatically improved since the previews. To borrow a comment made to me "He falls somewhere in between Phil and Greg in how he plays dad. Much more conventionally played.

Finale
Loud and upbeat :D :D :D

Now for my OMG moment. I am sitting in f101 on Friday night. At the intermission I stand up to stretch and hear Sam, Sam. I turn around and Katie and Ruby(Tracey Atkinson NY) Rakos are sitting a couple of rows behind me. They are visiting Chicago at the invitation of the Tracey A and family here. They were seeing 3 shows and going home Sun morning. This is what happens when you see the show so much and hang around the stage door :oops: :lol: People from the show :D start to recognize you. So Sat night in between shows I got invited to eat dinner with Two :!: Tracey Atkinson's :D and family. Much more on Chicago to follow later.
Sam
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