Hartford Reviews

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angelenroute
Billy
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by angelenroute »

jdmag44 wrote:At it's center the story of Billy is the story of a Father and son. When I was about Billy's age (13yo) I lost my Dad to cancer. I was devastated. He was my hero and mentor. He was old enough to be my grandfather
"My dad was just the same." He was 48 when I was born and died of cancer at 72 when I was 24. ("Me mam" died 5 years later).

On a separate note, my dad never suggested I was a "fruit", but he did use gay slurs at times in my presence, and so I never told him I was a, well, a Michael. Didn't tell him I was a "puff" until he was in the coffin at the funeral home. So for me, I had an Act I dad, and our relationship never got to Act II.

I say all this by way of just agreeing with you that the father/son story in this musical is a major theme for me and many people who come to see the show. I'm forever grateful to the men who have so admirably performed the role of "Dad" over the years, and I thank Jackie Elliot for his support of Billy with the same heart as I thank my Dad for everything he did for me growing up.

Sean

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
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Billy Whiz
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by Billy Whiz »

Billy Elliot The Musical has left the building - well in this case, North America. It was a sad occasion but I saw 4 wonderful performances by a tremendous cast. It was also nice to have a chat with Tim Funnell at the stage door. He, like a lot of the other cast, is off to Brazil soon for BETM Brazil. I hope the civil unrest there has died down when the cast and crew go.

I would just like to thank the cast and crew for all the wonderful performances that I have seen on the tour. I would also like to thank the families of the cast who have made us all so, so, welcome. It is so nice to hear all the positive comments about the fans and the Forum from the families.

I also must add that the audiences in Hartford were the BEST I have ever encountered at BETM anywhere - and I have seen a few performances in my time ;) The audiences more than made up for Hartford itself which was like a ghost town on Saturday and Sunday. It shows how quiet it is when even Starbucks closes at weekends.

Here are a few photos that I took. I hope you like them

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Billy Whiz is the Gallery Admin. Please send your photos, articles etc to forum.gallery[at]billyelliottheforum.me.uk Please replace [at] with @

In the email can you also please let me know the date where and when the photo(s) was taken, who is in the photo(s) as well as your forum name.

When you send photos to the gallery can you also please PM me to let me know that you have sent them. If I don't receive them after a couple of days I can then chase them up.
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michaelJ
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by michaelJ »

Thanks for the great photos!

I love how everyone has a personal story about why Billy moved them so deeply. The show definitely takes me back to my own childhood and memories both good and bad. It reminds me of the relationships I had as a child and the ones I was missing. It reminds me of the things I did as a child and the things that I did not have the courage to do. The parallels of the story of Billy and the real life stories of the boys who played Billy adds so much to the experience of the show for me. At times when I heard them sing Electricity I thought to myself "this kid isn't just singing the lines to a song, this is him singing what he really feels". And if you prefer the 10 cent explanation as to why I liked it so much: because at the end of every show I was happy!
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michaelJ
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by michaelJ »

Did anyone else notice how incredibly long Mitchell whispered in Dad's ear in the last two shows? Longer than I have ever seen. The longer he whispered the funnier it got. As he turned away from dad towards the audience in the final show he had a big smile which quickly went away as he got back into character. Nice touch for the final weekend!
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angelenroute
Billy
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by angelenroute »

Thank you for so many great photos, Billy Whiz! I love them, and I love everyone in the photos too! They each and all make up the heart and soul of this beautiful show.

Sean

"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it." -Edward Albee
aubergine
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by aubergine »

Sean, I finally got to read your tribute from this morning. Beautifully said.

I feel very fortunate to have been part of the audience for that final leg of the tour. I was only there Thursday and Friday, but reading everyone else's thoughts from the subsequent shows, it's very clear that those last few shows were even more emotionally charged. I've seen many a musical, but I've never *felt* any like this one.
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atreyu
George
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Location: Boston, MA

Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by atreyu »

angelenroute wrote:Thank you for so many great photos, Billy Whiz! I love them, and I love everyone in the photos too! They each and all make up the heart and soul of this beautiful show.

Sean
Thank you, Billy Whiz and Gary V. These will sure help us all 'Stay Inspired'.
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atreyu
George
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by atreyu »

I requested and received permission from johnnyc to write a posting about some happenings from Saturday night. It should be of high interest to other forum members and also it should be very clear that any hint of braggadocio is solely the fault of the writer, not the source. ;)

So there we were at the theater, following the forum Vito's event and waiting for the Saturday evening performance. A handful of forum members were holding mezzanine tickets for this show, including johnnyc. John had not seen a Drew performance before and this was likely to be the only opportunity. So viewing this particular show from over 100 feet away was not especially attractive.

A few members tried exchanging tickets at the box office, but with limited success. However, johnnyc was the lucky jackpot winner and was offered a Center Orchestra, 6th row ticket! There would be a charge for the price differential, though. This would definitely be a candidate for the best $10 spent on the entire weekend. 8-)

Upon taking the new seat, there was yet another bonus in store. Seated next to johnnyc was the Minard family, both parents and brother! Naturally they were very curious to meet a superfan that had seen 240+ performances. And then the parents made the request: Would johnnyc be willing to give them a candid, honest, no-holds-barred evaluation of Drew? :o

Are you sure? was the return query. Candid evaluations in the past had sometimes resulted in some pretty upset recipients of that information. Yes, they were sure.

And so after the show, the Minard parents got what they asked for. The specifics of that conversation are between johnnyc and the Minards. But I can report that the family was extremely pleased with what they heard, especially coming from such a well qualified, authoritative source. :D

What with johnnyc getting a great vantage point for watching Drew in his only chance and the feedback he was able to provide to Drew's folks, "all we can say is that it's all for the best and couldn't possibly be any better. Amen." (Golde, Fiddler on the Roof)
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ERinVA
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by ERinVA »

Is there some reason johnnyc couldn't post this himself?
Ellen



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aubergine
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Re: Hartford Reviews

Post by aubergine »

Is there some reason johnnyc couldn't post this himself?
Well, if I were johnnyc I would probably still be shaking like jello and completely incapable of typing. What an awesome story!
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