Since all of you were there Sunday night, I don't need to post a review. It was a great night--see you all soon!
Hmm. Still want more? Okay, okay, fine. For those who weren't there and those who were but like reading anyway, I'll add my 2 pence.
This will be a shorter "review" than usual though and will be mostly centered on extracurricular activities and not the show itself. The show was wonderful as usual, but I'm tight on time and can't fill in all the blanks in my brain just yet.
The Week Prior
Well it was a busy week or two filled with phone calls, tweets and messages back and forth on Facebook and the Forums. Out-of-towners were scurrying to sell tickets they purchased for what they previously thought was Trent's final weekend with the show and those of us like me who waited and hadn't bought tickets were left with a choice of available seats to buy from our Forum friends and acquaintances. I for one was
not planning on going yesterday (a theme that seems to revisit my Billy fan career quite often). But I did want to encourage my friends and family to go see the show since there were a bunch of tickets people were trying to sell. I was able to put a couple of ticket buyers and sellers together, one of whom was a coworker friend who went with her husband [and both loved the show]. She was so excited to be going that we were able to get her sister a ticket as well. And so, with all of the excitement and then the dinner plans, I decided relatively near the last minute that I wanted to be part of what was shaping up to be a very special evening.
The Dinner
Hugsy2k Linda had planned the dinner, making reservations for 30 of us, and she picked a really great place: The Film Center Cafe at 45th and 9th. I highly recommend it! Food was very reasonably priced, delicious and with generous portions. I treated myself to a cocktail at the bar because I was the first to arrive and it was $10, so be careful if ordering drinks there. Not a horrible price for a good drink in NYC, but more than the hoped-for $6 or $7. =)
As has been elsewhere reported, our special guests for the evening were none other than Mr. Braithwaite and Susan Parks, the Spastic Starfish. Mr. Braithwaite, who must have decided not to detain himself at The Rose and Crown before dinner, came in just a few minutes after us with a great theatrical flourish announcing that he and his guest, the young, very beautiful, very talented and I might add very un-spastic Miss Susan Parks, had arrived. We gave them a great round of applause and a hardy/hearty cheer. Though they were both expected to Mrs. Wilkinson's dance class ahead of us, they stayed for a good long time and we had some great conversations with them. And I sat right across from them--yay! =)
And just as we've all become less forum members and more friends, Tessa and Thommie were our friends and it was really great getting to know them better. Tessa decided she would go to each and every person and meet them individually (she didn't get to everyone but boy did she try hard!). When I messaged her after getting home last night, she wrote back, "It was so nice meeting all of you...and I didn't even get to meet everyone! Billy fans are the BEST
Sean...the one with the groundhog shirt right? Am I right?" She was right. =) I've always adored Tessa from a distance and never spoke to her before, but for those who have yet to have the pleasure, she's as effervescently wonderful as you'd imagine. =) And Thommie of course is just such a great guy, very funny, very smart and very easy to talk to. He joined us for dinner at the First Preview and has always been a great friend and supporter to those who support the show.
I don't know why, but I still get nervous before any BETM forums-members gathering. My brain tells me I won't know anyone. Silly, I know, especially since I knew 90% of the people there and most of the ones I didn't I introduced myself to. To those who don't know me well, please say hi anytime on private message through either forum or in person when we meet, as I love talking with everyone. I'm the redhead currently sporting chin hair I neither like nor dislike. Oh and I sometimes wear a Groundhog Day shirt because it's the only shirt I have that says "Long Island" and I like to represent. =)
Shout-outs to the Staten Island folks I met briefly, Cha* from South Korea, and to Cindy whose name I keep thinking is Samantha. Hello also to teachygreen Melissa from Tarannah, Chris from upstate NY, the other Chris from upstate NY, bobz and oh boy I better stop because now I'll just be leaving everyone else out. But hello everyone else! Muchos gracias to my Malverne and Baldwin, NY friends who drove me home (dancingfool and friend).
The Show
Yes, there was a show Sunday night too. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The audience was the equivalent of a dead fish handshake at the beginning, but they warmed up more and more as the show went on. I found myself laughing hysterically at new lines/moves by Philip Whitchurch as "Dad" and Luke Trevison as Small Boy. He was so funny and I hadn't seen him before. I like Greg Jbara's "Dad" more, but Philip is brilliant and wonderful...plus his English accent is so spot on! =)
I don't like going negative, so I'll just say I really missed Carole Shelley last night!
And to the person who mentioned Will Chase trying to smack the money harder and further each night, wow were you right! But poor Trent had to slide all over the stage collecting all those bills!
Speaking of Trent.........a smile comes to my face as I think of him. I just adore him and will be crying in convulsions on his final night! I won't bring tissues, I'll bring a bath towel. His singing on the sadder/higher-note songs isn't his strongest point but he wins me and the audience over anyway because when it comes down to it, he sings like a kid from a mining town in northern England and not like a trained singer. His acting and dancing remain awesome and his stage presence and confidence are what really make him rock. He IS Billy Elliot and he's so immersed in the role every second he's on stage. Trent, I don't want you to ever leave the show, but I also REALLY look forward to your next incarnation. Like any actor on stage or in film, you love their great roles but always enjoy seeing them become someone else. I have absolute confidence Trent will become someone else wonderful soon enough too!
Sorry to leave it off there but I began writing this on my lunch break and it's 5:30 PM now and I want to go home.
Warm wishes to all, and I look forward to seeing you again soon, probably in 2 weeks' time.
Sean/angelenroute
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*Cha, I loved when Tessa asked your name; she thought it was Chai. It was a cute little exchange actually:
Tessa: And what's your name?
Cha: Cha.
Tessa: Chai, like Chai Latte?
Cha: Cha.
Tessa: Oh cha, like cha cha cha. =)
Again, nice meeting you Cha! =)