September 2014 Reviews - London

[kport]

The Good People of Easington give their views about today's live show, presented to them down at the Social.....

http://www.dailynewsen.com/life-style/v ... 02682.html

[dancingboy]

( As I am sure there will be a few reviews I shan't say too much)

Actually, I was a little disappointed today. Until recently I had every intention of staying at home to watch the Ryder Cup Golf on television, but took the plunge to buy a ticket for The Live Show and, boy, am I glad I did, disappointed as I was to miss watching Golf.
I think that, today, we saw Elliott 'come of age'. He may be only 11 years of age, but he shouldered the responsibility of playing Billy superbly well. Elliott has always been an excellent dancer, but his acting and singing have flourished in recent weeks and so with everything combining so well throughout the afternoon, his performance was a joy to watch.


There were a few slight changes to the script ( and a certain slowing down in places) that were discernible to those regulars in the audience, but they had no influence on the show. The atmosphere in the theatre was one of excitement, with everyone hoping against hope that nothing went wrong, and nothing did go wrong. The Ballet girls, the Ensemble, all the cast, in fact, could not have performed better and the audience loved it and applauded and cheered, with no one inhibited by the presence of the cameras.

Dream Ballet, for me, has never been better to watch, it was quite exquisite. A slight slowing down ( to normal) of the music brought the best out of both Elliott and Liam, with some flowing movements, including whilst Elliott was on the wire. Elliott also excelled in his Electricity, with almost perfect timing throughout the number, resulting in a tumultuous and well deserved ovation.

Zach always has been a wonderful Michael and the Expressing Yourself and Tutu scenes, the latter with some changes to normal,
were, once more, admirably performed.

I have already commented elsewhere regarding the Mash-up Finale from the current and the ex-Billys, which was worth the admission money alone. It was wonderful to watch. All the hard work that had gone on during the week paid off handsomely. Congratulations to the choreographers and the Billys for making this so special.

After the show I had the pleasure to say a few 'Hellos' to the likes of Josh Baker, Harrison, Redmand, Ryan, Ali, ( some of the Billys that I had seen regularly) and thank them all for stopping by.

An afternoon to remember, that's for sure.

[MsRF]

Totally agree with what everyone has said so far about the show. It really was excellent.

One extra little change that I really liked was when Mrs Wilkinson gives Billy the tape, before Angry Dance, and tells him to 'Just do what you've done in here and you'll be fine'

The usual reply: 'For f***'s sake, I know, you telt us before!' became 'Aw, f*** a duck, I know!'

By the look on Ruthie's face, I think it caught her by surprise too!

[porschesrule]

Here's a review of BETMUK Live from Film and TV Now:

http://www.filmandtvnow.com/billy-ellio ... rformance/

[dancingboy]

Here's a review of BETMUK Live from Film and TV Now:

http://www.filmandtvnow.com/billy-ellio ... rformance/

A pity they can't spell the word ' miner' correctly.

[BILLYFAN]

I watched this show at the VUE in Exeter and I agree with all the other reviews that it was a magnificent show.
The close ups were good and it was nice to see the expressions of the actors
Elliot worked so hard, as did Zach and the ballet girls, and not forgetting the adult actors
My favorite scenes, shine,solidarity,angry dance, dream ballet, and electricity, were well above my expections , Elliot was realy out of breath at the end of electricity as he put so much effert into it, The Mash up at the end of the final was superbly performed, and it was nice to see the older Billys
At the end of the show,in the queue to get out of the cinama, I heard several people say the must go up to London to see the show.
The only disapointmment I had,was, I took 3 of my friends to the show and when we got to Exeter in good time (1.10) 1 of them did not want to get in too early as he did not like seeing adverts or trailers, so we went to have a cup of coffee and did not get to the show untill just before 2.00, just as Elliot was finishing showing what goes on back stage and I don't know what else we missed.
As for the d.v.d and blue ray, I intend to get one , but will it stop people comeing to see the show?
If I get a blue ray I would only watch it occasionly, as I preferr to watch the show live.
Like the other reviewers I would like to see many extras but, unless they issue a 2 disc dvd,etc, you can only get so much on a single disc.
The dvd of the film was a single disc, and people were disappointed with the extras, so 6 years later they issued a 2 disc dvd, which was much better, so I hope they issue a 2 disc this time

[OliverWaters]

As for the d.v.d and blue ray, I intend to get one , but will it stop people comeing to see the show?
If I get a blue ray I would only watch it occasionly, as I preferr to watch the show live.

A lot of people like musicals; however, not everyone likes the experience of going to the theatre (crazy, right?!). Likewise, not all people who like musicals are satisfied by watching them at home. So I think the DVD will serve to advertise the show to people who are likely to go to the theatre,and bring the show into the lives of the people who aren't.

And frankly, it's not terribly difficult to find bootleg videos from any musical, so if people were desperate to see the show but not go to the theatre, they can find a way; the DVD will provide a non-illegal and profit-making way for them to do so.

[Lola]

As for the d.v.d and blue ray, I intend to get one , but will it stop people comeing to see the show?
If I get a blue ray I would only watch it occasionly, as I preferr to watch the show live.

A lot of people like musicals; however, not everyone likes the experience of going to the theatre (crazy, right?!).

For most musical fans it's not a question of wanting to go (because they do) but more a question of money! So this DVD is a gift for every fan who lives far away from the theatre or cannot afford the tickets. At least that's how I see it.

[patc]

The air was thick with excitement. The anticipation was exotic. The VPT was buzzing. We could hardly believe our ears. But this was Saturday, the matinee. Mr. Stephen Daldry had just arrived on the stage with the news that we were about to see the dry run of Billy Live. It was being recorded to be run side by side as a standby if anything went wrong on Sunday. Ye Gods, we were going to see it before everyone else. For those of us who weren’t able to be there on Sunday due to a prior engagement arranged many moons ago it was a Godsend. Not only that. The Billy Mashup was going to be included. Not only that. We could also look forward to the cinema replay on Sunday night.

Amidst much mirth, Stephen persuaded the audience (with consummate ease) to “pretend” it was Sunday and even succeeded in getting us to cheer and wave enthusiastically to imaginary “audiences” in places such as Aberdeen and Easington. Prior to that it was fascinating to arrive inside the theatre to see the array of hugely-expensive-looking and shiny DigiSuper95 cameras perched in places where there were usually seats and a remote-controlled tracking camera running the width of the theatre on a set of rails along the floor between Chris Hatt and the audience. (We didn’t notice the high-above-the-stage camera from which several shots were used for the cinema showing). From memory there were at least 9 cameras that were visible. I reckon there must have been over two million quids worth of them.

What happened over the next three hours was incredible even for hardened Billy fans. Elliott, Zach and Demi gave the performances of their young lives. The adult principals, the Ballet Girls and the entire Ensemble followed suit as if their very lives depended on it. Caspar took everything that was thrown at him (including the safety curtain) and little Liam sparkled although it was a shame that some silly little work rule deprived him of his moment of glory at the end. The sound and music was superb and (Chris)py crisp. The upshot of all of this was a most wonderful, memorable, powerful and emotional afternoon’s entertainment that will absolutely live in the memory forever.

A landmark moment for me was seeing the so graceful Liam Mower perform such a beautiful Dream Ballet with Elliott. I never had the pleasure of seeing Liam perform as Billy but this was quite some considerable consolation. I have heard so much from original Billy fans about his legendary behaviour as a gentleman (boy) at the Stage Door with all of them and it was abundantly clear, during a short conversation I had with him after the show, that going on and achieving his ambitions has not changed him one little bit. It was an emotional moment I will forever cherish.

I read somewhere before that most authors rarely if ever go back and read any of their books and I don’t usually go back and read previous reviews I’ve done of the show but, after what I saw this weekend, I just had to go back and discover wot I wrote (thanks for that Ernie) when I saw Elliott on stage for the first time in July 2013 (his second show). This is an extract:

When the news broke during the week that a 10 y/o Billy was starting on Wednesday night there were gasps of disbelief among Billy fans. At that age I think they're usually only being sussed out. Well, I can tell you that 10 y/o Elliott Hanna (in only his second show) was sensational. Cool as a cucumber he took every scene in his stride, danced, sang and acted (with even a cheeky twinkle in his eye some of the time) in a manner usually associated with a seasoned professional. Far from being too young it would have been criminal negligence to delay any further the release of this boy onto the VPT stage and into Billy folklore. The big two dances, Angry and Electrified were monumentally performed and we were all saying afterwards, what is he going to be like in 6 months time.

Anyone with a pair of eyes that day would have seen that Elliott was a class act and he proved it to goodness-knows-how-many millions of pairs of eyes on Sunday. If there is such a thing as perfection then this was it.

There were some very slight alterations to the show that fans will have seen but the one that stood out for me was in the Letter when, as Dead Mum was about to depart after her first few verses, Elliott poignantly implored her, “Don’t Go”. These two little words and the way they were spoken had a most extraordinary effect on my eyes.

I’m not sure where the term “mashup” came from (that’s what we Irish do with spuds) but it was a fantastic idea. So much was going on and so fast and by so many that, even having seen it live on Saturday and again in the cinema on Sunday, it will need careful study of the DVD to discover who exactly did what although I don’t think I’ll be winning any prizes for guessing who did the incredible “kick the moon” style midair twist. One way or the other, it was an unforgettable experience to see the return of all these great Billys who have thrilled us over the years and for which they have earned immortality and our eternal thanks. None of them ever forgotten.

Watching the replay of the Live show on Sunday night, the close-ups of the cast brought quite a new dimension to their performances and none more so than Zach on his bike at the end. Whatever tears I had left by then, he opened the final floodgates.

With all the glitz and glamour surrounding the Live Billy we must not overlook the fact that the other three shows I saw with Ollie (twice) and Bradley at the helm were brilliantly performed and I enjoyed them thoroughly as did their respective audiences with standing ovations. Thursday evening was a first glimpse for me of new Michael, Todd Bell, and, once again, we can say with confidence that another shining piece of gold has been extracted from the BETM goldmine conveyor belt. Todd was quite brilliant and will be entertaining audiences with style for some time to come.

It’s very hard to come down to Earth again after this past long weekend. With the utmost sincerity I hope that the wishes expressed by Elliott in the preview at the cinema come true. He deserves nothing less. He is already well on his way.

Pat

[OliverWaters]

As for the d.v.d and blue ray, I intend to get one , but will it stop people comeing to see the show?
If I get a blue ray I would only watch it occasionly, as I preferr to watch the show live.

A lot of people like musicals; however, not everyone likes the experience of going to the theatre (crazy, right?!).

For most musical fans it's not a question of wanting to go (because they do) but more a question of money! So this DVD is a gift for every fan who lives far away from the theatre or cannot afford the tickets. At least that's how I see it.

Depends really. I'm a working class plebbo who currently depends on student loan, and managed a couple of shows.