July 2011 Reviews - NYC

[atreyu]

I was at Jacob's show on Thursday June 30th....the bed stopped the boxing scene twice....it would not go down....after a five minute delay....the show went on

For some clarification, it sounds like the problem at the June 30 show was the lift mechanism. What we're talking about for July 3 was only the spring-loaded bed. The lift was working fine. Or do I have that wrong?

[StevenKing]

Canceling the end of act one has GOT to be about more then the bed...I've seen that happen once before, they pushed bed down lowered lift and started from when Billy came off stairs(minus stairs)...maybe there was a lift problem...if not then I have some choice words for them.and I simply haven't got the words to comment on no announcement...them being random again(Announcments fire up the audience you bloody fools, ie the show YOU DID RIGHT BEFORE!!!) Ok I did have a few words...the tour version:)

[Billy Whiz]

Atreyu is correct.

As far as I could see - and I was on the front row - the only problem was that the bed base did not drop.

[ERinVA]

If the bed does not go back down to horizontal, then the stage floor can not close over the bedroom lift when it descends into the trap, and that would leave a gaping hole with a vertical bed sticking up out of it. This would be a danger to all involved in the dance, so it would have to be fixed before the number could continue. I guess that not being completely sure of whether it was a simple fix or a more difficult one, they opted to take a long intermission to give time to analyze the problem and get it fixed. Still, I think they could have held for a few minutes to determine if they could restart the number or not and then resumed it if at all possible. However, when something like this happens, the fix also involves resetting all the computer programming that runs everything from the hydraulics to the lighting, etc. as well, so without a contingency plan in place as they have for Dream Ballet when they opt not to use the flying rig, they probably didn't have much choice.

It's really sad that this had to happen at Jacob's last show.

[Todd]

Regarding the bed problem, from what I could tell, it looked like Jacob reached out and gave it a slight shove and it moved a bit, but not enough to knock it back down on the floor. I'm sure he's done this move hundreds of times in both rehearsals and in performances, but this time maybe got into too big of a hurry to make sure the bed was going down before he continued down the steps.

It was unfortunate that this occurred at his last show, but like others, I feel that it could have been handled much better by the back-stage team. I suspect that since this sort of thing has happened rarely in a performance at this point of the Angry Dance, someone apparently panicked and just decided to lower the curtain rather than look for a better solution, which caused the first act to end with a thud.

What I feel should have been done would have been to stop the number, make an announcement that there had been a "technical difficulty," and then have a stage hand simply go up and see if the bed was stuck. Presuming it was not - and I don't think it was - the resident director should then make an announcement that the scene would be resumed from the point where Billy says, "Me mom would have let us," followed by dad's, "Your mom's dead !" This is the way it was handled at the very first preview performance in Chicago when there was some sort of problem at about this exact same point in the number. Granted, they didn't use the mechanized bed there. But fortunately calmer heads prevailed since Stephen Daldry was on hand, as he came up on stage to discuss the matter with the crew, then got on the microphone to apologize and explain what happened. They then resumed the scene from the point that I mentioned above so that Cesar Corrales was able to treat the audience to the "Angry Dance."

To prohibit the audience in New York last night from seeing Jacob's dynamic performance of this number - and for Jacob to not be allowed to do it in his final show - was extremely disappointing for everyone involved.

[ERinVA]

I agree that they should have examined what could be done and restarted the number if at all possible.

[mikey]

I originally posted this in the June thread - here it is where it belongs.


Saturday matinee July 2

Tade/Neil/Alex

Some reviews run on and on. Others are short. This may be the shortest review ever, but it says it all. Today was my first time seeing Tade Biesinger as Billy.

OMG, OMG, OMG!

Nice try, but my review of Tade at the same performance was even shorter! : )

[mikey]

I agree that it is a slap in a humble brilliant Jacob Clemente's face not to show and give him the respect he has earned........they should make an announcement......notice that they made one for G's debut on Sunday afternoon......why not Jacob....? NO EXCUSE...... Some of the BETM creative people can be difficult ..... their attitude of no respect for Jacob underlines this .... shame on them.....

I kind of got the same impression in regards to Tommy B. He never really got the respect he deserved. My understanding was (and I may be wrong in this), that there was no announcement at his final Broadway show nor at his final performance before leaving the role. The fact that they chose to add him to the rotation as Billy #4 just a few months into the run essentially robbed him of sharing in the Tony glory of his costars. Which makes Greg's acceptance speech, where he recognizes Tommy and Tanner, all the more meaningful.
I was expecting the same woman who came down to make a pre-show speech to welcome Giuseppe to make a short speech about Jacob, but nothing. I wonder who makes these decisions? WHy do some of the Billys (Alex) get pre-show speeches, while others (Tommy, Jacob) don't. Also, why do some of the actors use their real names for the final Goodbyes (Kiril, Alex, most famously Ollie Taylor thanks to YouTube) while others do not (again Tommy and Jacob). It reeks of favoritism.

[mikey]

I was not planning on this past weekend being a "Billy Marathon" but events were out of my hands!
I went by the theater on Saturday and saw Tade's name up for the matinee. Having not seen Tade perform before, and having a goal to see every Broadway Billy I could (sorry Tanner and Dayton), I bought my tickets and saw Tade's fantastic Billy. My one word review earlier on this board is enough. Nothing more needs to be said.
I had overheard one of the ushers talking about watching Giuseppe rehearse, Therefore I knew that he was in town, had rehearsed the show with the cast, and that there was a possibility that he would go on for Sunday's matinee. So I went by the theater and his name was up. Bought my ticket. It is easy to see why Giuseppe has so many positive reviews --he truly is an outstanding performer. His dancing was perfection (perhaps a bit too much ---Billy still needs to have a "rawness" about his dancing and Giuseppe is just, well, his dancing is flawless). His singing was fine and he act the role extremely well.

[Billy Whiz]

Ok. I'll try and get things back on track for Jacob's last night.

I felt priviledged to be at the Imperial Theatre last night. The audience were terrific, the cast were really "up for it" and Jacob was perfect.

The Letter was very emotional and he had tears running down his cheeks. I would imagine that was happening all over the theatre at that particular point. I know I had a lump in my throat.

I'm not going to go through every little detail as I don't do reviews very well. I will leave that to the scribes in our community. I will say though that Electricity was nothing short of wonderful and at the end of it Jacob received a well deserved, and long, standing ovation. Jacob looked overwhelmed by it but then managed to regain his composure and dashed off with the Billy Bag and coat.

At the end of the show Greg walked forward and asked Jacob and Holly Taylor (Sharon Percy) to come forward. It was the last performance for both of them and Greg thanked their parents for allowing them to be part of the Billy family.

Here is a photo I took of Jacob at the stage door after the show.