Billy Elliot the Forum

Sounds like you had a great time. Looking forward to your review(s).

Not for long, I expect.

Over the past 2 weeks I saw 5 Toronto shows - 2 Myles, 1 each Marcus, Ty, & Julian.

I've now seen Marcus & Myles 6 times each. They are 2 truly extraordinary Billys! I said that to a golf buddy and his wife as we were all jammed into the lobby of the Canon waiting for the doors to open. He asked me how I can tell that a Billy is "truly extraordinary"? I told them that it is very subjective. Every BETM fan would have his own standards but mine are as follows: 1) a great singer 2) acts up a storm 3) does a piano flip & sticks the landing 4) great dance skills 5) taps & skips rope like a maniac including fast crossovers and doesn't screw it up 6) a marvelous electricity with aerials 7) gives us everything he's got over a 4-minute Angry Dance

Marcus & Myles do all 7 to perfection nearly every single show. If they had worked their Billy life in London or New York they would both be living legends by now. That Russian guy would do an 8,000 word essay on each of them like he did with Ollie Taylor. Instead, they have toiled their whole career in the remote outposts of Chicago and Toronto.

When I saw Marcus two weeks ago I saw another classic masterpeice. Of particular note was the loudest, most expressive rendition of electricity I've ever heard. The dancing complimented the singing beautifully. I got a $250 performance for a $25 lottery ticket. Highway robbery.

Myles first performance was as good as it gets. The 2nd performance proved that even Myles Erlick is human. He screwed up early with the rope but came back with fierce, fast crossovers. Later on he even flubbed one line. The hundreds of other things he said, did, sang & danced that night were flawless. If someone asks me the question: "how was the worst Myles Erlick performance you've ever seen?" The answer is: "utterly fantastic!"

So what if you take everybody's advice & go to Toronto to see Marcus & Myles but by the luck of the draw you see Ty & Julian instead? You are in for an absolute treat! These 2 guys lept from the brow of the Toronto creative team fully formed! Great singers and trained ballet Billys! They are both actors who already have patron's heartstrings in the palm of their hands. It helps when you are little guys like these two. Right out of the box they both did piano flips and stuck the landing. After their angry dances (containing f-bombs) I am as breathless as they are.

Whatever the Chicago/Toronto creative team is getting paid, it is not enough. Look at their track record: Giuseppe Bausilio, Cesar Corrales, JP Viernes, Marcus Pei, Myles Erlick, and now these 2 new absolute gems!

The night my friend and his wife saw the show was Julian's turn. They loved the performance and she decided to get Julian's autograph on her program because "he's probably going to be famous." When we got to the stage door we had to wait our turn. Julian was friendly, chatty, and signed & took pictures with all. My golf buddy's reaction: "it's amazing how little he is, he looks bigger on stage. Seems like a nice kid, no ego."

If at all possible, get to Toronto by September 3. No matter which Billy you see, you can't go wrong.

Very nice write-up, muck912. Thank you for it.

But...

muck912 wrote:Whatever the Chicago/Toronto creative team is getting paid, it is not enough. Look at their track record: Giuseppe Bausilio, Cesar Corrales, JP Viernes, Marcus Pei, Myles Erlick, and now these 2 new absolute gems!

Don't forget Tommy Batchelor among those great Chicago/Toronto Billys

Aug 12 - Ty/Dillon
Aug 13 - Mat - Julian/Jack
Aug 13 - Eve - Myles/Dillon
Aug 14 - Marcus/Jack

Another successful Billython has come and go and though I rarely write reviews anymore, I wanted to mention a few things.

Four shows with four Billys I had not seen before - perfect! I probably don't have much to add that hasn't been mentioned, but since Alan wants a review so he can argue with someone, I'll oblige.

Overall, I was REALLY impressed with the Toronto production. The cast, the theatre, meeting up with forum members and even the enthusiastic audience all provided for an awesome weekend. Each Billy put their unique mark on their individual performance. What I'll remember about each Billy is Ty's exceptional acting and emotional letter scenes, Julian's riveting Angry Dance (one of the angriest I've ever seen), Myles' stellar Electricity and Marcus' graceful ballet moves in Solidarity, Born to Boogie and Electricity.

If singing is not a strong point for a particular Billy, it's not really an issue for me so I was delighted to see that all four are remarkable singers. Throw in excellent acting from all of them and you've got 4 triple threats. Another thing I liked about the Toronto production is that all 4 Billys remain serious and composed after Electricity. No smiling and no breaking character - just a stare back at the audience and then they turn to Dad and grab the jacket and bag and run off. Simple but effective.

As for Michael, Dillon and Jack provided many laughs and did their best to steal scenes which had the audience in stitches. It was also good to see the veteran Maria Connelly back on stage as Debbie. The adult cast was excellently cast but I have to give an extra shout out to Cindy Benson who did a fantastic job as Grandma. I really loved how she played it and I think the audience agreed since it seems to me she got some of the loudest applause during the Finale.

The one complaint I had was that I felt Billy's microphone should have been turned up a bit. After the first show, I thought that maybe Ty needed to speak a bit louder but I had the same problem with the other Billys so it was probably the mic. (No, I'm not going deaf - I heard the adults fine and some people sitting around me mentioned they had trouble hearing the boys, too. )

Finally, I want to add a special thank you to Julian's parents, Marcus' father and Marcus' GREAT-grandfather for taking to the time to chat after the show. They were all beaming with pride and so they should. So whatever happens to the cast after September 3rd, all the best to them - they deserve it.

Regards,
Rich

Thanks for the review Rich. You should do them more often as it was excellent.

I'm so glad you had a great time in Toronto. It really is a very friendly city.

Billy Whiz wrote:I'm so glad you had a great time in Toronto. It really is a very friendly city.

It certainly is. Whether it was the hotel staff, the store clerks, or the police officers, they really made me feel welcome.

Thanks for your review, Rich. I'm glad that you decided to write one, especially since you don't often do so. Glad you had a good time as well.

Great review Rich! You beat me to it, although I still plan to write up something about the Saturday performances. It was great seeing you and shimmyshimmy again, and also meeting Derek and Liam.

Thanks for the great review, Rich. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.