Jake Pratt

[KeefyM]

Jake certainly knows how to work an audience & has them all eating out of the palm of his hands.
On Friday and Saturday night he was his usual charismatic, hilarious & brilliant self, He is so confident, with so much energy & enthusiasm and conveys Michaels actions & feelings perfectly in his great performances.

Jake is the master of improvisation, if something goes wrong he knows how to recover it, by adding a line here or there. Loved his line a little while ago to Ollie when he threw the dress at Jake and he dropped it, to which Jake immediately said "Bad Throw Billy" - brilliant.

His performances in Express are great, he really goes for it and his expressions/reactions to Billy and the audience are brilliant & how you would expect Michael to act.
Some great touches in Express including the brilliant he way he lifts his glasses up, then pauses for a moment while looking at Billy before finally saying, "do you get to wear a tutu ?", and I'm glad to say he still does my favourite Jake thing - kissing the picture of Billy before he sticks it on the mirror.

On Friday night as Pinknick103 says he blew kisses to the audience at the end of Express but he was also doing it at the beginning as well (before Billy joins in). He did the same at the beginning of Express on Saturday night and one of those kisses was at me (well, what do you expect from Michael!).

Jake seems to be the master of getting the tap shoes on quickest in Express as he always seems to be ready (Michael wins) long before Billy.
When I think about it, has any Billy actually beaten Jake at getting the tap shoes on in Express ?
as he was well ahead of Dean last night and Aaron on Friday night.

As burtond has pointed out before, Jake does a great thing in the Boxing scene where he gives George the middle finger as he leaves & Saturday night was the first time I have noticed it & it works really well. No wonder Michael hides in his coat from George later on. Jake really goes for it with his punches on George & on Saturday night he gave Dean a right whack on his face that looked like a proper punch which resulted in a few gasps from the audience, thinking he had punched Dean properly & knocked him out.

As I have said before the way Jake uses his glasses throughout his scenes is brilliant, clever & funny, especially when he takes them off just before the infamous Nutcracker line. In the past there were quite a few times during Express where Jake was standing in front of the mirror & took his glasses off & cleaned them, and I'm a bit disappointed that he seems to have stopped doing this now (probably because of the amount of Michael lines that have been cut in Express, he doesn't have the time now), but it was another great Jake touch in his brilliant & unique portrayal of Michael.

It seems that Jake will be leaving the show soon, which is a shame as he is an excellent Michael & will be a great loss to the show.
In the meantime though we still have quite a few more Jake performances to come so catch him while you can folks for a hilarious, charismatic, unique & brilliant take on Michael.
Well Done Jake, fantastic performances mate!. Loving your take on Michael.

[Billy Whiz]

I have been given permission by his family to announce that Jake's final performance will be the evening show on Saturday, August 28th.

I'm sure anybody that has seen Jake perform will agree that he has been a terrific Michael and he will be sadly missed.

Best wishes Jake for whatever path you decide to take in the future.

[athadj]

Oh no Jake's leaving I wish he could have waited one more month since I plan to be there at the end of September but of course he has to go back to being a "normal" kid and start school with everyone else, I guess...

He has been my favorite Michael and I'll miss him a lot but I wish him all the best in whatever he decides to do in the future. Thanks for the laughs Jake, you are brilliant mate

[porschesrule]

I have been given permission by his family to announce that Jake's final performance will be the evening show on Saturday, August 28th.

On this day of the announcement of Jake's leaving the show, someone posted on Josh Fedrick's fansite as the video of the day, the We Are Billy Elliot video which featured Jake at the beginning of his run as Michael. While it's not a new video, I thought people might like to be reminded of what a thoughtful and intelligent young man Jake is...

http://joshua-fedrick.com/video-of-the-day-10/

[patc]

Jake's final performance will be the evening show on Saturday, August 28th.

Sad to hear this news. This is the only down part of Billy - when someone leaves.

I'll be there for that.

Pat

[caaz]

Such a shame Jake is leaving, i was really hoping to catch him again as i've only seen him once although i do have to say that one time was amazing as he gave one of the best, if not the best Express performances i've ever seen.

Good Luck in the future Jake

[Billy Whiz]

I'll be there for that.

Pat

Me too Pat.

B15 Stalls

[*Lottie*]

I REALLY hoped to catch Jake again he provided me with the best Express I have ever seen.
A true star, Good Luck with everything you do in the future.
I predict big things.

Wish I could be there to see him perform as Michael for the last time.

[James.R]

We have received confirmation from the theatre that they are generously allowing the special privilage of last night photos for Jake's final performance.

Usual rules apply...
- Still photos only allowed from the point after the curtain falls following the chair lift at the end of the finale
- No flash at any time
- No videos at any time

Please be considerate of others in the audience behind you if you do take photos and in any event follow the directions of the ushers on the night.

[pinknick103]

Best of luck for your last show Jake.there will be a good forum crowd there to support you tonight.I can't wait to see you.good luck with your future projects.you will be very successful.lotsa lov nic x