September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

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ERinVA
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September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by ERinVA »

A new thread for September reviews.
Ellen



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


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mrmikerocks
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by mrmikerocks »

I went to the Sunday, September 5th performance in Chicago. It was very good as usual. Billy was played by JP Viernes and Michael was played by Dillon Stevens. After the show I went to the back stage door. Tommy was there for a brief moment as was Cesar Corrales, my favorite Billy. JP had quite a big following as he did an awesome job at the show. This is the second time I had seen him. He's a really good dancer. The cast is very approachable and will sign autographs and take photos for you. I recommend going back there as its a neat experience.
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bandaide2012
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

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I attended Giuseppe's final Chicago performance today and am still feeling emotional because of it. When in line for rush tickets, I spoke with Mrs. Bausilio who was an absolute sweetheart. She was glowing with pride for her son and she was just so nice to talk with. Giuseppe was incredible throughout the entire performance. He kept it together and definitely made every moment count. As always, he was absolutely adorable and the crowd fell in love with him. There was huge applause after every number, even without an announcement that it was his final show in Chicago. There was some sort of glitch with the boards use to surround Billy during "Angry Dance" so the show was stopped for about 2 minutes. The curtain came back up and they resumed at the part where all of the boards are up and Billy is dancing against them. This did not do any damage to the crowd whatsoever, everyone was still loving the entire show. As I know they do in NYC, Giuseppe said "see ya Keean" who responded with "see ya Giuseppe" at the end of the show instead of using their characters names. I instantly lost it and started crying at that point. Though Giuseppe is not leaving Billy, he is leaving Chicago where I, as a huge Billy Elliot Chicago fan, have loved having him here. It feels like the end of an era for me now that an original Chicago Billy has left the production. Though he will be missed, I am so thrilled that the rest of the USA can see just how great he is when he tours. I had never experienced a Billy's final show before and it was wonderful. I may not be able to attend Tommy's when it arrives but I know that as a fan, I will be forever grateful for the incredible kids in this production and I can't wait to see what awaits them in the future.
NYC:
Billy- Tommy, Alex
Michael- David B., Gabe
Chicago:
Billy- Tommy x3, Giuseppe x3 Cesar x2, JP 2x, Marcus
Michael- Keean x7, Gabe x2, Dillon 2x
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ERinVA
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by ERinVA »

Thanks for that bandaide2012. It's good to know that there was a lot of support for Giuseppe today even though nothing was announced.
Ellen



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


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porschesrule
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by porschesrule »

Thanks for the review, bandaide2012. It's great that someone from the Forum was there to report on Giuseppe's last show. I'm sure there would have been more present if an announcement had been made in advance.

Again it looks like the policy of no announcements AT the show also apply, like in NY.

Was there any acknowledgement at all at the end of the show (like the traditional bouquet of flowers on Broadway)?
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bandaide2012
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by bandaide2012 »

porschesrule wrote: Was there any acknowledgement at all at the end of the show (like the traditional bouquet of flowers on Broadway)?

There was not. The cast was definitely more emotional and excited during the Finale and they showed so much love towards Giuseppe throughout the whole show. Other than that, the "see ya" moment was really the only indication, and it sounded like some audience members were kinda confused by that haha
NYC:
Billy- Tommy, Alex
Michael- David B., Gabe
Chicago:
Billy- Tommy x3, Giuseppe x3 Cesar x2, JP 2x, Marcus
Michael- Keean x7, Gabe x2, Dillon 2x
mrmikerocks
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by mrmikerocks »

I as well attended Giuseppe's last Chicago performance. There was a bit of emotion in the show. It was a very good last performance. The glitch in the Angry Dance has happened before. A few weeks ago I went and saw Tommy and they stopped the number due to a malfunction with the box. But back to this afternoon's performance, it was something special to see. Giuseppe performed wonderful. I agree as the saddest part was the cya Keean, Cya Giuseppe part. It was truly an emotional show. After the show, at the stage door, when he came out the crowd of about 60 people cheered for him. He signed autographs and took pictures until the last fan was gone. He is truly a class act kid and Billy Elliot is lucky to have him.
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by chi-towngirl »

Saturday 9/18 matinee

Billy: Marcus Pei
Michael: Keean Johnson

I went to this show today excited to see Marcus, his second show, and a new Billy to me. I tried to keep track of lots of details, since I know many have not had the opportunity to see him yet-- I apologize in advance for lacking brevity!

Opening:
The first of a few small line changes... "its to do with maggie thatcher, isn't it?" "what's she done"
Marcus' reply: "I don't bloody know", changed from "f***ed if I know". I'm not a fan of this change-- I think the original gives quick insight into Billy's personality, and is usually good for some laughs... no response from the audience today.

Breakfast scene: While tossing and turning, Marcus scooted way down the bed so his feet were dangling really far forward through the slats of the bedroom-- most people aren't looking up at this point, but it was funny to see his feet sticking so far forward through the rails.
I'm a little confused by this scene today-- not sure if these are slight blocking changes, or just small mistakes from new performers.... When Marcus first came down the stairs, he had his full pajamas on-- top and bottom. Usually Billy takes off the top while still upstairs. Also, his pajamas were this weird blue small print (floral?) not the usual plaid. He took his pants off as normal while talking to grandma, so was still wearing his blue boxing shorts and long sleeve flannel pj top. Continued the whole scene with mum wearing the shirt. When he ran up the stairs to get his trainers, that's when he took his shirt off-- oddly enough it worked, because it slowed down his line delivery and delayed "found them!" from coming out too soon.

Boxing scene:Everything worked really well, comedic timing was spot on, Keean and Marcus could not have been more uninterested in fighting--Keean bent over double trying to catch his breath, Marcus was playing with the strings of his boxing gloves. Keean gave George a serious punch to the groin-- the audience winced on this one today!

Shine: Marcus does a great job of appearing awkward and confused throughout this dance-- you also get a taste of his attitude when Mrs. W asks him where he's going-- "I'm going home" came out with some serious attitude. Then at then end with Debbie, "what do you reckon"? was really innocent-- it was like he was hoping for a sign of approval from her.

Solidarity: Fantastic as always. Marcus finished with some amazing fast spins, and you could clearly see him slow down the last two revolutions to set up the pirouette landing-- very controlled. In the bathroom scene with Mrs. W, Marcus showed really good delivery and timing with his lines-- never rushed, well enunciated.

Express: Keean owns this number, the audience was loving him here. Marcus had a little trouble with the pink robe, and both boys had trouble with singing during the sequence where they wear the dress on one arm as their dance partner. I think they both missed the beginning of the singing phrase, and there was just instrumental for about 6-8 beats before they jumped in singing mid-phrase. There was the rare "Michael wins" with the shoe race, and rest of the number was very strong.

Letter: Marcus was so excited for his Star Track Annual! Then he was rummaging in his bag, digging around, pulled almost everything out... no baked beans. Had to skip immediately to packet of soup. They didn't miss a beat, but it does throw off the humorous "how are we going to make up a dance about baked beans and a packet of soup?" Oh well, they just kept going. Marcus has a nice singing voice and can hit the high notes with ease. He had an interesting take on the scene with Mum-- during their whole interaction, he was very absorbed in their "world". He didn't break from it until Mrs. W sings "Mum", that ends the song. When she spoke he sort of jumped, like she had startled him out of his trance-like imagination, and it took him a second to get his bearings.

B2B: Marcus does a funny, groovy, snapping rhythm while standing on the chair toward the beginning of the number. I laughed because Marcus loudly called Mr. B a w***er with the gesture during the song. Missed his first jump with the jump-rope but got right on track immediately after. I think Marcus' tap-shoes need to get scuffed up a little because I saw him have about 3-4 small slips during the course of the show-- never major, barely noticeable-- but I think he needs to break in those tap shoes! He does a round-off off the piano to end.

2nd small line change: When Mrs. W gives Billy his tape for the audition, He normally says "For f**s sake, I know! You've told us before man" Today: "I know! you've told us before man!" Again, no profanity. Again, I don't like it-- it doesn't make sense for Mrs. W's line "and another thing, try and keep your mouth shut". That had no meaning today, because he never said anything offensive!

Angry Dance: Very poised, strong number overall-- I think he was gassed at the end. The final brush off he looked Tired.

MCMC: Nothing out of the ordinary. The drunk guy who first takes the mic before "deep into the ground" today sang "splish splash he was taking a bath.." (TANGENT: Every show in Chicago he sings a new song, is this standard? The last show I saw he started to sing "she's a maaaniac maaaaaaaniac... and big davey started to do a jennifer beals-esque flashdance for all of 5 seconds... but it was hysterical! I always look forward to this part to see what they come up with each time. )

Winter scene: Marcus had fun with Barbie: He bent her front to back, first putting her head to her knees, and then all the way back, several times quickly. Keean held "I'd miss ya" staring eye to eye for a long time before he turned away. Good scene, both the serious and funny parts.

Dream Ballet: I think this was Marcus' strongest number, complete joy to watch. His ballet training shines. Flying was flawless, Nicholas Torres (older Billy) spun him incredibly fast for the final spin sequence. Huge smile throughout.

Electricity: Marcus doesn't do any handsprings in electricity, only cartwheels. His choreography, of one's I've seen, is most similar to Giuseppe's. He does the double tours at the end. After the short singing reprise, just before the final dance sequence, right when Billy shouts "free" and does a big fist pump before he starts his circle around the stage, Marcus took this incredibly deep gasp for air,like he was digging deep for the finish. His final pirouettes a la seconde were fantastic, with a really strong, clean, ending. The audience went wild.

Final scenes: In the goodbye to Mrs. W., Marcus delivers "I could never have done it without you Miss" very poignantly, very emotional. In the packing scene with Dad, Marcus spins his pants around into a sloppy spiral in a similar way that Tommy always spins his jacket.

General observations: At the beginning of bows, right as the ensemble runs on before gesturing Billy to run back up on stage, a huge, heartfelt embrace center stage between Armand Shultz and Emily Skinner-- I think the emotions are building with tomorrow being her final Chicago show. The cast cheered and clapped for Marcus louder than I have ever heard when he ran back to the stage-- still really showing their admiration and support for their newest Billy! What a polished performance from Marcus Pei, an amazing 2nd show. I expected his dancing of course to be amazing, but he surprised me with how well he delivered the non-dancing parts of the show, lots of nuances and depth that will continue to develop. Final note, it was good to see Sam Pergande back. He did not dance Older Billy, but did all of the ensemble parts that Older Billy usually performs. The last time I saw him perform was June 1st, so its nice to see him onstage again.

So there you have my impressions of Marcus' 2nd show! One more chance to see Emily Skinner in Chicago.... tear. Guess I'll have to come see her in NYC sometime!
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ERinVA
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by ERinVA »

Thanks for the excellent review, chi-towngirl. I'm with you on the line change in the opening. I am not a person categorically against change, but I do think Billy's first line should be left alone.
Ellen



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


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porschesrule
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Re: September 2010 Reviews - Chicago

Post by porschesrule »

Thanks so much for that detailed review, chi-towngirl. Really well done and insightful, and our first real glimpse of new Billy Marcus.

Please never apologize for being detailed. I love reading these kinds of reviews and I know there are many other forum members who do as well.

This looks like a first post from you, though from some of your comments you indicate you've seen the show before and are obviously well versed in it to be able to make the type of astute observations you've made. I hope you'll continue to post as you've made a great contribution.
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