Saturday Matinee, October 23, 2010
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:18 am
Saturday Matinee, October 23, 2010 (performance 3 of my 5 performance Billython)
Imperial Theatre, NYC, Orchestra right, row B, seat 10
Peter as Billy; Neil as Michael; Alex Dreier as Small Boy
Ben as Tall Boy/Posh Boy; Georgi as Debbie
Adult cast substitutions: Michaeljon Slinger as Older Billy/Scottish Dancer
Prior to the start of the show sitting in my close to the stage seat in row B I'm convinced that things can't get any better than at the two previous performances of My Billython or that here's any new insights about this show to be discovered. I was wrong. Having the production hit us with the double whammy of the up to then unknown to me quantities of Peter Mazurowski as Billy and the absolutely adorable and engaging Alex Dreier as Small Boy coupled with the already known to me quantities of Neil McCaffrey's exhilaratingly exuberant Michael and Ben Cook's standout Tall Boy/Posh Boy saw to that. In very short order.
As the show progressed further and further, I was more and more impressed at the seemingly effortless way that Peter manages to fuse and weave all the elements and demands of the role into a seamless whole. I very clearly remember half way through the first act thinking that the word "smooth" most aptly described Peter's performance. Others have described his movements on stage as precise and measured; and I think that's part of his (to me) smoothness in the role. But there's more to it than that. All the boys playing the part are Billy and not themselves when on stage. But somehow, I don't know how, at this performance Peter goes beyond that to become the very personification and embodiment of Billy, He IS Billy, in the flesh incarnate, body, soul, and heart; it's as if Peter has taken over Billy's body, or Billy his. I don't know if what I'm saying makes any sense to anyone else; I'm simply at a loss of words (unusual for me) to put it any other way. Peter, the slightest and thinnest ("tiny" as Kate Hennig put it) of the Broadway Billys is truly astounding me; as Billy in particular and as a performer in general. The result is that I'm enjoying this, my third performance even more than my first two; something that I would never had dreamt to be possible.
During Peter's rendition of Billy's "Take Me Up" solo portion of "The Stars Look Down" I gain some new insights into Billy and his complex conflicted feelings. That's a tribute to how well written, produced and directed this marvelous show is with its multilayered complexities; even with multiple viewings there's something new and fresh to discover. To me, "Take Me Up" expresses Billy's desire, really a plea for help, for someone or something to take him up out of the bleakness that has become his life and the dire straits that has befallen his family and community. At the same time, we're seeing in Billy the eternal hope and belief common to young children that no matter how bad things are now that sometime in the future they will be better; that they (and the others in their lives) will emerge from the darkness into the sunshine. Seeing it for the third time, as done by Peter, Billy's tentative dancing during "Take Me Up" is for the first time conveying to me that while still unbeknownst to Billy himself he has the soul of a dancer, deeply infused within his core. Another realization also hits me; that part of the reason for Small Boy initiating Billy's dance steps is that he senses this essence within Billy and connects with it, since as I've mentioned in a previous review Small Boy might also have that dancer's soul waiting to be nourished.
Alex Dreier, like Seth Fromowitz the previous two nights, is cute, adorable, and lovable as Small Boy; his million dollar smile would melt even the most hardened of hearts. Like Seth, Alex plays both the funny and the tender moments with perfection well beyond what one would reasonably expect from any seven year old; and certainly not of one performing in front of an audience of 1500 people. Both nail it to a tee, in slightly different ways that allow each to impart their own stamp upon the role. Those two tiny dynamos each clearly have much fun when it’s his turn to play Small Boy on stage; I can only imagine the shenanigans when those two (or now Alex and Seth's replacement Zachary) get together backstage.
In my previous reviews, I commented on the excellent Neil as Michael and superb Ben Cook as Tall Boy/Posh Boy; there's no need to repeat myself here. And as with the other performances, Georgi as Debbie, the ballet girls, and the adult cast were outstanding.
All in all, another fine performance of Billy Elliot that is as fresh and entertaining as the first two of my Billython, and in some ways even more so.
Originally, these three performances were all I'd planned for my Billython; but as I mentioned in earlier posts, I did also attend both Sunday performances, including Joseph's debut on Broadway. I'll post my reviews of these as time permits in the next week or so.
Imperial Theatre, NYC, Orchestra right, row B, seat 10
Peter as Billy; Neil as Michael; Alex Dreier as Small Boy
Ben as Tall Boy/Posh Boy; Georgi as Debbie
Adult cast substitutions: Michaeljon Slinger as Older Billy/Scottish Dancer
Prior to the start of the show sitting in my close to the stage seat in row B I'm convinced that things can't get any better than at the two previous performances of My Billython or that here's any new insights about this show to be discovered. I was wrong. Having the production hit us with the double whammy of the up to then unknown to me quantities of Peter Mazurowski as Billy and the absolutely adorable and engaging Alex Dreier as Small Boy coupled with the already known to me quantities of Neil McCaffrey's exhilaratingly exuberant Michael and Ben Cook's standout Tall Boy/Posh Boy saw to that. In very short order.
As the show progressed further and further, I was more and more impressed at the seemingly effortless way that Peter manages to fuse and weave all the elements and demands of the role into a seamless whole. I very clearly remember half way through the first act thinking that the word "smooth" most aptly described Peter's performance. Others have described his movements on stage as precise and measured; and I think that's part of his (to me) smoothness in the role. But there's more to it than that. All the boys playing the part are Billy and not themselves when on stage. But somehow, I don't know how, at this performance Peter goes beyond that to become the very personification and embodiment of Billy, He IS Billy, in the flesh incarnate, body, soul, and heart; it's as if Peter has taken over Billy's body, or Billy his. I don't know if what I'm saying makes any sense to anyone else; I'm simply at a loss of words (unusual for me) to put it any other way. Peter, the slightest and thinnest ("tiny" as Kate Hennig put it) of the Broadway Billys is truly astounding me; as Billy in particular and as a performer in general. The result is that I'm enjoying this, my third performance even more than my first two; something that I would never had dreamt to be possible.
During Peter's rendition of Billy's "Take Me Up" solo portion of "The Stars Look Down" I gain some new insights into Billy and his complex conflicted feelings. That's a tribute to how well written, produced and directed this marvelous show is with its multilayered complexities; even with multiple viewings there's something new and fresh to discover. To me, "Take Me Up" expresses Billy's desire, really a plea for help, for someone or something to take him up out of the bleakness that has become his life and the dire straits that has befallen his family and community. At the same time, we're seeing in Billy the eternal hope and belief common to young children that no matter how bad things are now that sometime in the future they will be better; that they (and the others in their lives) will emerge from the darkness into the sunshine. Seeing it for the third time, as done by Peter, Billy's tentative dancing during "Take Me Up" is for the first time conveying to me that while still unbeknownst to Billy himself he has the soul of a dancer, deeply infused within his core. Another realization also hits me; that part of the reason for Small Boy initiating Billy's dance steps is that he senses this essence within Billy and connects with it, since as I've mentioned in a previous review Small Boy might also have that dancer's soul waiting to be nourished.
Alex Dreier, like Seth Fromowitz the previous two nights, is cute, adorable, and lovable as Small Boy; his million dollar smile would melt even the most hardened of hearts. Like Seth, Alex plays both the funny and the tender moments with perfection well beyond what one would reasonably expect from any seven year old; and certainly not of one performing in front of an audience of 1500 people. Both nail it to a tee, in slightly different ways that allow each to impart their own stamp upon the role. Those two tiny dynamos each clearly have much fun when it’s his turn to play Small Boy on stage; I can only imagine the shenanigans when those two (or now Alex and Seth's replacement Zachary) get together backstage.
In my previous reviews, I commented on the excellent Neil as Michael and superb Ben Cook as Tall Boy/Posh Boy; there's no need to repeat myself here. And as with the other performances, Georgi as Debbie, the ballet girls, and the adult cast were outstanding.
All in all, another fine performance of Billy Elliot that is as fresh and entertaining as the first two of my Billython, and in some ways even more so.
Originally, these three performances were all I'd planned for my Billython; but as I mentioned in earlier posts, I did also attend both Sunday performances, including Joseph's debut on Broadway. I'll post my reviews of these as time permits in the next week or so.