Billy Elliot the Forum

Tonight there is a new boy playing Tall Boy on Broadway. At this point, little is known about him other than his name is Jacob Clemente.

One of the Forum moderators may want to move this to the appropriate place to start the thread properly.

Moving it now.

Great tapper! We may have a future Michael u/s on our hands!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nPIzctd-Fw

And apparently he was in LuPone's Gypsy beforehand.
http://homeschoolingspotlight.com/index ... &showall=1

Thanks for that find. This suggests to me that he is a Michael in training as Keean was.

Another note: Corey has strong ties to the NYC Dance Alliance, so he probably knows Jacob.

Safuza wrote:Great tapper! We may have a future Michael u/s on our hands!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nPIzctd-Fw

And apparently he was in LuPone's Gypsy beforehand.
http://homeschoolingspotlight.com/index ... &showall=1

Edit: wrong url at the top! changed to a YT vid

From the pirouette in that dance number on youtube, looks like he may have some ballet training as well. Any chance that he might actually be a Billy in training?

You never know...Tommy started out as a Tall Boy before becoming a Billy.

And he was in Beauty and the Beast...maybe he knows Trevor?

He's quite a dancer!

It's unclear. Was the homeschooler article written in October 2006 or February 2009? If it's 2006, he is now 14, so unless he's quite short for his age, or unless they are bringing him in the show quite soon, I doubt they'll invest too much in him.

I sat in front of Jacob's Dad, younger sister, older brother, and a family friend. Jacob comes form Albany and as reported earlier, studies at the same studio as Corey. He was selected/hired for the job two days before joining the cast and did an excellent job. He is very animated actor and does a great job of conveying a lot of emotion. He lights up the stage during the Christmas scene, just like Tommy.

When I found out after the show from his Dad that it was his first performance I was shocked. His brow was a bit furrowed when dancing in the finale, which made him look a tiny bit nervous, but he really came across as an old pro.

Several forum members met him briefly after the show and he is super friendly and outgoing. He seems quite smart and must be to prepare for a role in just two days. He also appears to have a great sense of humor.

His siblings have experience acting as well, one of his two sisters played Cosette in a production of Les Mis, and his brother has some acting experience as well (sorry, I can't recall the details).

I believe Jacob turned twelve at the end of the summer. His family is used to their son being in a Broadway show as he appeared in Gypsy as the paper boy until earlier this year. Based on an article in the Albany Times Union, his Mom is an attorney and is in charge of his home schooling and his dad runs his own business that, similar to Corey's Dad, is also involved in construction.

Here's a link to that article:

http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/st ... yID=715475

Enjoy!

John (from Vermont)