Costa Mesa Reviews

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BEtourfan
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by BEtourfan »

This OC Register reviewer seems to like the performances but not necessarily the story.

__________

'Billy Elliot' soars, but not often enough

By PAUL HODGINS / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

"Billy Elliot" is a popular but problematic musical.

Nobody can deny that it's uplifting: A working-class British boy's dancing dreams triumph over his strike-torn surroundings. Hooray!

But despite the contributions of some top-drawer talent, including songs by Sir Elton John, the story is clumsy in execution, over-telegraphs its message and overstays its welcome. (During the bows at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts on Wednesday, a member of the touring cast even made a joke about it, telling us – tongue in cheek, thank God – that they had a 40-minute post-curtain presentation planned.)

This isn't the first time in the history of musicals that big shows commit big sins. "Show Boat" goes on and on. "Carousel's" wife-beating leading man makes us feel queasy. "Ragtime" sells its messages as subtly as a fishmonger.

"Billy Elliot's" problems emanate from the source material. It's based on a gritty but effective movie about a 1984 strike in northern England – a bitter, drawn-out battle that pitted Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government against 300,000 angry coal miners. She won, their profession disappeared, and the incident left lingering bad feelings that even bubbled to the surface at Thatcher's recent funeral.

A tough tale isn't impossible to turn into a musical. "The Full Monty" took a similar milieu and mood – unemployed steelworkers in a working-class town – and made Broadway gold. (That story's grubby Sheffield, England setting was turned into Buffalo, N.Y., when the movie became a musical.)

In fact, you could argue that many great musicals soar because of the seriousness of their subjects. Rogers and Hammerstein tackled hot-button issues as enthusiastically as any radical playwright.

But "Billy Elliot's" two narrative threads never co-exist comfortably.

It's easy to get behind Billy (Mitchell Tobin at Wednesday's performance) after he discovers by chance that he's got a passion and talent for ballet. He lingers after a disastrous boxing lesson so he can hand the keys to the studio over to a gruff dance teacher named Mrs. Wilkinson (Janet Dickinson). He is pulled into her boisterous dance lesson, and that provides the spark.

The dance studio scenes are among the musical's strongest. Wilkinson is a no-nonsense woman with a "tough love" philosophy and an eye for talent. Billy is drawn to her for many reasons, one of them obvious – he misses his dead mother terribly – but Wilkinson is careful not to provide that kind of bond with the boy. She nurtures his passion for dance but steers clear of letting him get too close, a sometimes heartbreaking but ultimately wise decision. Tobin and Dickinson connect poignantly in these scenes.

But "Billy Elliot" frequently gets bogged down when it switches focus. The plight of the miners seems like it belongs in a different play – something by John Osborne or Clifford Odets, perhaps. Lee Hall (book and lyrics) makes their defiant stand against the government seem not only futile but dull. It's a "little people against big forces" parable that's too familiar and predictable to be interesting.

Lee's attempts to fuse the two parts results in some missteps. At the end of the first act, Billy's angry dance with a corps of riot police descends to the level of camp.

Still, there are enough magic moments to make "Billy Elliot" a guilty pleasure. In a fantasy sequence, Billy's soaring pas de deux with a male dancer who represents his possible future is perhaps the best of them. Choreographer Peter Darling makes the potentially hammy flying effect seem perfectly appropriate.

This touring show contains many strong performances.

Rich Hebert strikes a delicate balance as Billy's dad, a widower who hides his grief behind anger and bluster. But though he's often mean to Billy, especially in the first act, his actions can't be so harsh that we turn against the character. Hebert preserves a core of decency that allows us to cheer for his character when he finally, reluctantly, begins to support Billy's dream.

Jake Kitchin is wonderfully nonchalant as Michael, Billy's cross-dressing, eccentric friend (he shares the role with Sam Poon). Playing Billy's dotty grandmother, Patti Perkins knows how to get laughs out of simple bits of stage business. Cullen R. Titmas brings surprising moments of humor to an essentially humorless part, Billy's older brother Tony, a striker and firebrand who clashes frequently with his dad.

But "Billy Elliot" sinks or soars on the strength of its leading character. The touring production travels with four Billies; each plays two shows per week.

If the others share the potent combination of dance talent, raw energy and emotional range that Tobin possesses, then this production is lucky indeed. Of course, credit must be given to director Stephen Daldry for capturing the tricky mix of youthful exuberance and grim north-of-England fatalism that Billy and his fellow townsfolk possess.

If Daldry could reconcile the script's two warring halves, "Billy" would soar as high as its star does. But that task falls to the writer, not the director.
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ERinVA
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by ERinVA »

The link to that review can be found on the previous page.
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: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by porschesrule »

A nice review from the local Costa Mesa publication The Daily Pilot:

http://www.dailypilot.com/entertainment ... 0097.story

"If they're all as accomplished as Mitchell Tobin, who starred in Wednesday's opening, this show will run a long, long time."

Yeah. Maybe even as long as August :o
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angelenroute
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by angelenroute »

WebmasterLK wrote:You would not have known that was Kilty's "Billy Elliot" debut (I certainly didn't until I got on the forum later!). He was great!
Awesome! Good for him. =)
WebmasterLK wrote:My friends and I actually saw Ben Cook waiting outside for Drew and Mitchell. I really wanted to meet him but I had no idea how to approach him for a picture (since he wasn't in the show tonight). Drew and Mitchell eventually came by and then the three went inside. I'm pretty sure I could've just told him I recognize them as the other Billys and ask to take a picture, but I didn't for whatever reason.
If you were nice about it, I'm sure he would have been happy to meet you. The kids are all very used to who's around at all times, and I'm sure they sense when they've been recognized by stage door or even at a local cafe or hotel. I tend to stay away too because of shyness, but especially if you're younger and with friends, I'd say just say hi next time! :)
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angelenroute
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by angelenroute »

skkmercury wrote:First, let me say welcome to Kilty Reidy, the new Mr. Braithwaite. You’d never know it was his first go at it judging by the performance he gave. He is terrific. I love his facial expressions and his laid back demeanor. His response to Mrs. Wilkenson’s jab at him for “taking a class” at Sunderland (sp?) College during B2B was a new one for me. He nonchalantly pretends to light a cigarette using his middle finger as the lighter. Great stuff!
Awesome, sounds very funny!
skkmercury wrote:It’s also awesome to see so many in the cast who have been there since the beginning of this tour….. or at least for a very long time. Rich Hebert as Dad, Cullen Titmas as Tony, Patti Perkins as Grandma, Joel Blum as George, and many others are still strong as ever. I have much admiration for how they keep their performance levels as fresh and top notch as they do.
AMEN!!!
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porschesrule
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

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mrmikerocks
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by mrmikerocks »

porschesrule wrote:A review from the examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/article/billy-e ... long-beach
ouch rough review
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BEtourfan
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by BEtourfan »

Not exactly a review (though he liked the show) but an interesting article on Huffington Post about the show's impact on its author and his daughter--and a great idea for a sequel.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mohamed-a ... _ref=media
skkmercury
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by skkmercury »

Thursday’s performance, 4/18/2013.

Caught my second show in Costa Mesa, this time being my first experience seeing Drew Minard on as Billy. Where do I start? I guess I’ll start by saying WOW! Drew literally left me without words. I’m struggling to come up with adjectives that don’t seem to exist. Incredible, phenomenal and mesmerizing don’t seem to be adequate. Drew is truly an awesome Billy!

I loved his take on the character. He plays the role a bit more serious and with maybe a little more of a chip on his shoulder than others. I’m always amazed when any child is able to turn in a well done acting job. Drew certainly does that here. Love the delivery of his lines, like when he simply says “What?” or “Huh?” or “What’s she on-about?” He’s so real. He’s such a kid. He’s Billy and doesn’t at all seem like an actor who is trying to play the part of Billy. I was so impressed with him. Wow!

As you can probably guess, I pretty much knew Drew was really special right from the get go. But, you’d have to be asleep or dead not to realize how special he is after he displays his dancing talents. Unbelievable. He had a perfect Angry Dance. Great taping, great movement. Actually, this scene wasn’t technically perfect. Right before Billy is to run up to the police barricade and jump up onto their riot shields, a piece of fence or large board (or whatever it is) wasn’t lying flat on the floor immediately in front of the police line. Billy didn’t attempt to jump on or over the piece so couldn’t jump up onto the police riot shields. Instead, Drew improvised and added some dance steps to perhaps taunt the police and then continued with the normal choreography. I actually liked this better than how it’s intended to be done. Again, wow!

Drew’s Electricity is one for the ages. This is where I truly go speechless because it just left me dumbfounded. “How old is he?”, I kept asking myself. No one his age or size should be able to dance like that, I thought. It seemed to me that his toe points, his arm positions and his quick, precise movements are all way beyond that of any 12-year old. The pirouettes, the degree of difficulty he adds and the final spins at the conclusion of the song found me with what felt like my eyeballs were going to fall out of their sockets. Wow, wow and wow!

I had made it back to the theater on Saturday night, 4/20, hoping to have another new Billy experience with either Ben or Mitchell. (I had already seen Noah’s terrific performance on Tuesday night 4/16, with my review of that night posted earlier). Turned out that Drew was on again this night. I smiled widely at the realization because I knew it would be well worth the extra cash, even if my pocketbook had been hoping to limit myself to four shows (each one with a different Billy) over the Orange County run. I was blown away by Drew’s performance on Saturday night just like I had been on Thursday night. Wow!

Back to Thursday night, one other interesting thing happened. Ben Cook’s name was on the board to play Tall Boy/Posh Boy. I had seen him play this part back when I saw BETM for the very first time, on Broadway circa April, 2011. Ben is so much more grown up now. I am really looking forward to see him play Billy. I’m guessing he will be one powerful dancer. He is most definitely a strong Tall Boy. During the boxing scene with Small Boy and Michael, all doing “press ups”, Ben was doing ONE-ARM push ups, a-la Rocky Balboa! Wow! :o
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Re: Costa Mesa Reviews

Post by CJ-Rochester »

skkmercury wrote:During the boxing scene with Small Boy and Michael, all doing “press ups”, Ben was doing ONE-ARM push ups, a-la Rocky Balboa! Wow! :o

Thanks for the review skkmercury. I loved hearing about this. It is definitely something we haven't seen before. 8-)
:/
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