May 2013 Reviews - London

[Billy Whiz]

Even if I had been there I would not have been any the wiser as I would not have known these people if I had fallen over them.

[patc]

Thursday Matinee 23rd May

Redmand/Zach/Francesca

Grandma: Gillian Elisa

I didn’t expect the show we got this afternoon. After all, the new cast have barely been a week and a half together on the real stage. We got an absolute humdinger of a show that crackled and sparkled from start to finish. In addition, the audience was magic. Involved from the word go and never letting up.

We didn’t get to see new Mrs. W, Anna-Jane Casey, last week but her arrival on stage for Shine left all of us gasping – with sheer delight and admiration and more was to follow. Bubbly, bouncy, clearly defined and determined acting, amazing singing voice, shapely-delicious-dancing, facial expressions and eyes to kill for this was a tour-de-force of Mrs W-ship full to the brim that, quite simply, has to be seen to be believed. Yet she ripped my heart completely out during her goodbye scene with Billy. I won’t spoil it for anyone. It’s so much better to just to go along and see it first time for yourself. What a coup by the company. I was kicking myself for not doing the double this week, (well, there is always next week .)

Kevin Wathen was superb as the new Tony and has very quickly grown into the part in his chosen fashion.

Another delight was the return of the one and only Francesca Mango. Always a class act from day one of her long spell in the show her performance proved yet again that she has a fantastic acting future ahead. She has fine-tuned every word, nuance, pause, eye and body movement to perfection and you will never see a better portrayal of Debbie, ever.

The wonderful Zach had the house in full flow in a hilarious, bubbly and brilliantly yet poignantly performed Michael. The whoops of delight from the groups of school parties present certainly let him know how much they approved .

It was my first time to see new SB, Joe and new TB, Jude. Both were excellent and Jude’s noggin-off-the-safety-curtain routine was most impressive.

The Adult Ensemble as a unit have really magnificently gelled and all the big numbers were crisp and powerful with all those great harmonies coaxed, cajoled and conducted expertly by Maestro Chris Hatt.

I omitted to mention in last week’s review that the audience clapping in Maggie Thatcher was non-existent. However, judging by today’s show it appears that they have reverted to the previous arrangement where the audience participation is invited only for the second half of the number.

Keeping the best wine ‘til last we come to Redmand. Well, what more can I say. Despite the presence of such great talent around him he was never going to be upstaged. He carries the massive weight of this show on his gentle Billy frame with such class and composure that he makes it look easy which we all know it is not. I think everyone knows by now that I find the performance of Electricity to be one of life's great emotional moments and it was no different today. As Redmand took his final pose and further rewarded the audience with his unique smile, it was almost an ethereal experience. Fratton Park will, sadly, be watching League Two football next season but Portsmouth’s favourite son is firmly established in the (Super) Premier West End League.

Too many more names to mention in one review but tonight I raise my glass to everyone on, under and/or adjacent to the VP stage for a most magnificent three hours of entertainment. Next Thursday cannot come quick enough.

Pat

[kport]

Thursday's matinee was simply stunning from start to end. I was lucky to be sat next to a very nice Australian university student on a semester abroad; she is a big, big Billy Fan, right back to the days of the Melbourne production when she was in high school. She shared my appreciation of this great cast; the nuances they have added; the indomitable Deka Walmsley; and Redmond Rance's extraordinary, stunning and inspiring performance. At the station I ran into a couple with a bag of Billy 'merche'; I had to ask them what they thought. 'Stunning and brilliant' they said. 'Incredible boy who played Billy' etc etc.

Where did they find the audience? Simply incredible support, even though the house was about 60% full. It was a performance when everything pulled together into a splendid afternoon's entertainment.

[Westletonion]

I agree with the comments made about Thursday's matinee. It was a top-notch super show with a lively audience and some fantastic acting, dancing and singing. I was incredibly impressed with our new Mrs Wilkinson, Anna-Jane Casey, who puts 100 per cent into her performance with a kind of comic severity. Her facial expressions, nuances and strong acting make her a real force to be reckoned with! The other new cast members are settling in well and this was certainly a show to remember. Redmand is quite sensational as Billy and and it is always a sheer delight to see his name on the board beforehand. Zach is extremely funny and it was really good to see Francesca back in the role as Debbie. A fantastic afternoon's entertainment and a wonderful contrast to the cold dismal unseasonal weather for late May.

[kport]

Yes, Zach was hilarious! His timing is perfect and he can 'play' the audience's reaction like an old pro. You could sense a real chemistry between Redmond's and Zach's performances.

I have not seen Chris Hatt stand to take a big, big bow before, but he did at the end of this performance. It was a cracker. One for the books.

[patc]

Thursday 30th May - all day

Matinee: Harris/Joe/Francesca

Evening: Ali/Zach/Millie

There’s always a special extra excitement at the VP when a new Billy’s name is on the Board-at-the-Door when you arrive. Thus it was at Thursday’s evening show. New boy Ali was on. We have now heard that he has been in training since Feb 2012 – the best kept secret in town. I can tell you it has been worth the wait. Yet another phenomenon has arrived in Victoria Street to continue the long line of boys to grace the VP stage that began 8 years or so ago. This performance was nothing short of sensational.

It immediately became evident that Ali has as pure and crystal clear a voice as you have ever heard. I’m certain that, if he were to read aloud the entire Tolkien Lord of the Rings trilogy, the listening audience wouldn’t miss a single syllable. Then, as he stepped his way towards the front of stage with Small Boy in tow you saw those incredible eyes lighting up under jet black hair (like a supertrain in a tunnel would dazzle you). You dare not even blink in case you’d miss an eye flicker or a momentary change of facial expression. You are already enraptured in your seat and yet the show has barely begun. And, at this stage, we haven’t even seen him dance.

I was never a boxing fan but, in the old days of Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, I used to get up at all hours of the morning just to see the famous “Ali Shuffle” in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvFix9gioDU. I’d stay up all night to see our new Ali’s Shuffle in the Boxing Scene.

The show progressed and as Ali displayed his dancing skills right through to Angry Dance you wondered were you watching Ali Rasul and the Forty Feet. Surely nobody can dance like that with only two. Incredible stuff.

Dream Ballet was another spectacular. Ali seems to be very light and, to my eyes, in this scene he entered airspace not previously occupied by a Billy.

An amazing street style Electricity followed that included gravity-defying moves and corkscrews. The smooth almost slo-mo manner in which he did the wall-flip suggested that he could do it no problem whilst carrying the full English on a tray. The over 50’s in the audience will have had to have back massages after just watching this high-octane and mind-boggling event.

And so it went on until the end, a superb and brilliantly performed Ali Billy that I simply cannot wait to see again.

Lining up with Ali was the wonderful, classy Zach and both boys gave us a fantastic lively Expressing with Zach deciding that Ali should sport Dracula style lipstick which provided great amusement to the front row. In the Winter Scene the same Zach controlled to perfection the sudden changes in emotions, switching from one to the other with ease and taking the audience with him every inch of the way.

It is only natural that a new Billy takes up most of this week’s review. In the Cricket 20/20 World Cup Finals there are usually at least two games a day. If the second game is exciting you tend to forget the earlier game even if it was exciting, too. This doesn’t happen at Billy. In the matinee we had another memorable and stunning show from Harris/Joe/Francesca. It only dawned on me as I write this that, in that matinee, we had the current longest-serving trio and the “newer” trio of Ali/Zach/Millie in the evening. The result was the same. Magic.

Of the new adult cast mention this week goes to Howard Crossley, who has a very impressive CV, but he was really born to play George. Looking and sounding every inch the part he is another great capture by the company. As mentioned last week, Anna-Jane was brilliant again in both shows and will sell seats on her own.

To Ann Emery and David Bardsley who played Dad in both shows. The VP couldn’t possibly be the same without them, plain and simple.

I sometimes wonder do the young cast of BETM fully realise just how much uplifting enjoyment and entertainment they bring to the hearts and minds of their audiences week after week, year after year. One of these days Billy WILL go on the National Health as authorised treatment for all our woes. My eternal thanks to everyone at the VP for this week's double dose.

And, this week, a special welcoming thanks to Ali for coming in to enhance our lives even further.

Pat

[porschesrule]

As always, a well written and very descriptive review, Pat. Thanks!

[angelenroute]

To Ann Emery and David Bardsley who played Dad in both shows. The VP couldn’t possibly be the same without them, plain and simple.

I wish I could have seen Ann Emery play Dad. Wow, what a treat that must have been!

[Billy Whiz]

To Ann Emery and David Bardsley who played Dad in both shows. The VP couldn’t possibly be the same without them, plain and simple.

I wish I could have seen Ann Emery play Dad. Wow, what a treat that must have been!

The same thing crossed my mind as well

Thanks for another wonderful review Pat.

[Barry Appleby]

"A BIG THANKS" again Pat for your great review of Thursdays performances,well waiting for, its the way you tell em! I'm really looking forward to seeing Ali sometime in the future.