Billy Elliot LIVE!

[ethan231h]

Posted: 11/14/14 at 8:37pm

Has anybody seen it? I am going tomorrow, also is there a intermission?

[mikey2573]

Posted: 11/14/14 at 10:30pm

I saw it and it is fantastic. There is a 20 minute intermission, which seemed a bit excessive. Ten minutes would have sufficed. There is a also a short introduction with Elton John, then a quick little backstage tour with Elliot Hannah (who is absolutely phenomenal as Billy) and then Daldry goes up on stage for about a 5 minute speech. Once it starts the energy level never falters. And it is interesting to notice the little differences between the London production and the one we saw on Broadway and on tour.

[ethan231h]

Posted: 11/14/14 at 10:40pm

Thanks so much, looking forward!!

[cryan71]

Posted: 11/14/14 at 11:28pm

Agree about Elliot Hanna. Really good in this role. I liked the curtain call when they brought out all the previous Billys including the 3 original ones.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/14/14 at 11:52pm

What are the differences?

[broadwayfreak2]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 12:24am

Really hoping this will get a U.S. DVD release!!

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 12:55am

Seeing it on the 18th. Beyond EXCITED! I love the story so much.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 2:03am

@Rippedman,

The two differences that I noticed right off the bat are during Billy's audition at The Royal Ballet and the curtain call. There's a scene with Billy about to audition in front of the panel. He informs them that he has a tape with music given to him by Mrs. Wilkinson. However, when he pulls the tape out of his pocket the film has unwound and fallen out of the tape. There was a small funny comedic moment where Billy was using a pencil as a screwdriver to put the tape back together and the panel just sitting there awkwardly.

The other is with the curtain call. On Broadway, after everyone takes their bows, the actor playing Billy comes out onstage solo with a big sign in lights saying "Billy." Now, for what it's worth, it could be something that is also typically done in London, but something that they scrapped to have more room/time for Billy alums to be on stage.

And, while the twenty min intermission may have seemed long, it didn't surprise me either. What we were shown in movie theatres was a recording of that which was originally shown as a live feed across movie theatres in the UK. Since the interval/intermission length in London is twenty min, we had a twenty min break at the movie theatre. For what it's worth, they could have edited it since it wasn't live. But, maybe they figured it would be less work to do that rather than just leaving things as is.

Updated On: 11/15/14 at 02:03 AM

[Alan Henry]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 2:09am

They actually did some editing from the live version to what is airing in the US right now. Some shots were tightened, different angles chosen, etc.

The director discussed it in an interview with Pat Cesaro here on BWW.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 8:04am

Yes, I saw it with someone who was in the UK last month and saw the live broadcast in cinemas there. She said that almost every shot in the US version was different from what she saw in the UK, and she was able to point out specific examples of the differences. She also said that it was edited much differently and that they had clearly edited in footage from a previous practice filming a few days before the live broadcast. She said that what she saw in the US was actually much better than what she saw in the UK, when the creators were making camera and editing choices on the fly.

As to the differences from the US stage version, in addition to the audition scene, the London version uses the song "He Could Be a Star" while in the US stage version, the song was changed to "He Could Shine". That whole segment is completely different in the London production. Here in the USA, that scene took place back at the hall and Billy's dad and brother eventually got into a physical fight, with Billy running in to break it up. We then see the miners reaching into their pockets to give money to help Billy go on his audition. We don't see this in the London version, which is too bad as it is a very important plot point and it is not conveyed well in the London version as seen on the broadcast.

Also, "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher" is staged differently than what we saw on Broadway, where George came out wearing a large military tank that shot nerf balls into the audience. In the London version there is a cow costume for some reason.

Also, during "Express Yourself" on Broadway, there were the descending prosceniums that lit up during the dancing dresses. In London there is just a tinsel curtain. And Michael's mirror does not light up before "Express" begins.

The Billy mashup at the end of the film is very good, though I thought it deprived Elliot Hannah of his traditional solo bow. Usually after the big dance finale, the curtain comes down and then rises to reveal Billy on stage by himself for his final bow. This is usually when the audience goes wild and it has always resulted in an immediate standing ovation for the actor playing Billy. This does not happen in the film which is unfortunate. Instead we see the three original London Billys who come out and take a bow. Then the Billy mashup dance. BTW, none of the American Billys (including the 3 Tony winning Broadway Billys) are involved in this, which I found quite odd. Especially since two Broadway Billys (Trent Kowalik and Tanner Pflueger) played the role in London as well. It would have been nice for them to add graphics during that dance to identify which Billy we were seeing.
THe giant BILLY sign was only used in the Broadway production and has not been seen since the Broadway show closed. You'd think they might have used it for the national tour or shipped it over to London for use over there, but it seems to have disappeared once the show closed in NY.

ANyway, it appears that what we are getting over here in the USA is the officially edited DVD release which is very different and much more "polished" than the UK live broadcast.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 9:02am

The only time I've ever seen Billy Elliot was during my first trip to Europe and London. Cried like a baby and embarrassed my friend to no end. I wasn't able to see it in theaters the other day but my other friend went and she loved it. I went to see Merrily We Roll Along when they did it and I hope they continue to do more productions like that!

PS I absolutely loved the cow costume for Margaret Thatcher. I loved that entire scene, actually.

[ethan231h]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 10:00am

I saw Billy Elliot on Broadway twice and in London once so, I'm very interested!!!
Updated On: 11/15/14 at 10:00 AM

[ThatBroadwayBoy66]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 10:19am

Its Incredible!!! 20 minute intermission.

[Outoftowner2]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 11:20am

Going this afternoon. It's such a great show. If you've never seen Billy Elliot The Musical this is a good low-priced way to take in the show. Highly recommended!

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 8:09pm

The 'Angry Dance' sequence is slightly different, on Broadway they have British Coal projections on the police baton shields, where you hear Maggie Thatchers voice say something like ' these are the wreckers in our society, they mustn't succeed.'

The US version for this is an improvement.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 8:37pm

I can't believe the scene with the miners giving Billy their money isn't in the London production. That was one of my favorite scenes. What a shame.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 11/15/14 at 9:23pm

^^^^^^

Is the scene you're talking about the same one where the "scab" comes to put money in the jar, and Tony pushes the guy away because he refuses to allow Billy to take what he thinks is dirty money? If so then that was in the live London production

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 1:39am

There used to be a sort-of song, where EACH of the miners and miners' wives donating money came forward. The first sings "take this" and then the next ones sings "and this" (and this continues) until they all had donated. Then, finally, Small Boy came out and donated a bunch of coins, throwing them into the miner's helmet (the makeshift collection bowl) one at a time, until a woman comes and picks him up around the middle and takes him to sit on the side.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 11/16/14 at 9:08am

That scene was in all the US versions of the show (NY, Chicago, 1st and 2nd National tours and Ogunquit PH), but it is not in the London version. We see a hat being given to Billy's dad, but we never se anyone put money into it that I could tell.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 3:27pm

I watched my Blu-Ray of the show last night and even though I've seen the show multiple times on Broadway and on tour, I still cried throughout the whole movie. I hope Elliott Hanna has a bright future ahead of him. He was wonderful!

Correct me if I'm wrong, in the US version, didn't Billy's dad actually go back to working in the mines and not just thinking about it… leading to the disagreement between him and his son?

[Alessio2]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 4:21pm

Will this work in US blue ray players?? do they still do that annoying regional thing? really want to purchase this

[Wildcard]

Posted: 12/2/14 at 4:54pm

I ordered from Amazon UK and it worked fine on my US Blu-Ray player

[rob_hanson1979]

Posted: 12/4/14 at 12:43pm

I've seen the show a lot, and love it!
I thought Billy Live was really good. I thought some of the differences in London worked better, and some North American changes were better. Was interesting to see the difference though.
I also had some nitpicks about the camera work (trying to zoom on on faces during dance scenes when they should be showing the full body) but overall it's great to see it on the big screen.
Ultimately, I think the Ogunquit production was by far the best I've seen. I wish they had filmed that production.
Everyone I've talked to says that the UK DVD does not work in North America, but the blu ray does. I've ordered my blu ray and it's on it's way!

[tazber]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 5:43pm

Just a heads up:


(regarding the blu-ray)
I read online that even though it's region 2 it still plays on region 1 machines.
So I went ahead and ordered it from amazon.uk.

It plays fine on my BD player.

[jo]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 6:09pm

Looking forward to watching my copy which has just arrived ( I live outside the UK and the US)!

I first saw the show in London and was so entranced with it that I made sure I also saw it on Broadway when I came over. I had a front row seat at the Imperial and seeing the dancing feet was so mesmerizing that sometimes my eyes were practically glued only to what was happening on that stage floor - LOL!