#1
Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:40am
The sold out crowd at the Imperial Theater tonight was more than excited for the first official New York preview of BILLY ELLIOT...and we were more than pleased by the end of the show. While this show may not be Elton John's best score, the storyline/book of this show tears at your heart strings and ultimately draws the audience in and totally succeeds as a Broadway musical.
The sets were fine for the most part. The best set piece was Billy's bedroom, which emerged from underneath the center stage and grew to almost the top of the stage. Stunning. Also, the lighting for the big dance numbers was truly fantastic. The costumes were OK...appropriate for the show, but nothing groundbreaking.
The ensemble was excellent. All the kids (and there were a ton of them) were true professionals and they could all act and dance very well. The adults were also fantastic...nice to see David Larsen (the lead in GOOD VIBRATIONS) working again. He is also a cover for Tony. "Solidarity" was astounding. The direction/choreography of the number contributed to me getting chills...and I don't care for that song so much on the cast recording...it works so much better live.
Leah Hocking was touching as Dead Mum. Her song in Act 1 with Mrs. Wilkinson and Billy was beautiful. Thommie Retter was great as Mr. Braithwaite and had a lot of fun during his dance number "Born To Boogie." Santino Fontana was fine as Tony...would love to see David Larsen's take as well. Frank Dolci was on as Michael and he was absolutely hilarious. "Expressing Yourself" was a great showcase for him.
Carole Shelley was fantastic and Grandma. She sold her (really poorly written) song "We'd Go Dancing" in the beginning of Act 1. Plus, she had a bunch of great lines...her acting was superb. I'm thrilled that she was cast in this show.
Greg Jbara was perfect as Dad. He was so mean and nasty to Billy at the beginning and then during the audition process, he began to soften up and accept Billy and by the time "Electricity" happened, Greg's entire demeanor had changed. It was a transformation right in front of our eyes. Incredible. Congrats to him.
Haydn Gwynne was brilliant as Mrs. Wilkinson. She delivered every line to perfection and her big numbers "Shine," "Born To Boogie," and "Dear Billy" were wonderful. Congrats to her on making the move from the London production to the New York production. She fits in perfectly with the rest of the cast...and yes, she did get entrance applause from this first preview audience.
I had the pleasure of seeing Kiril Kulish as my first Billy...and he was astounding. The director Stephen Daldry came out before the show started and told the audience that this was Kiril's first time performing on stage ever, and the first time they were running through the show without stopping. Well, it went off without a hitch. Kiril is a brilliant dancer and a wonderful actor as well. He was able to carry the show on his shoulders with no problem at all. A natural. His "Angry Dance" was absolute perfection. His dream ballet with his older self made me cry, as did "Electricity," and I *never* cry at the theater. But those scenes and his performance moved me so much. As a gay man, who was at first not accepted by my father, but then ultimately accepted by him for who I am, the story really hit hard for me...and I loved it. One slight hitch...at the end of "Born To Boogie," Kiril is supposed to do a backflip off of the piano and he did it, but with a little help from one of the stagehands...he'll get it down to a science with more practice I'm sure! Congrats on a successful first performance ever on any stage. Wow. A home run.
As I had mentioned earlier, Elton John's score was kind of a mixed bag...not nearly as strong as his work in AIDA, but much better than LESTAT. My favorite songs are "Shine" and "Electricity," but as I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed "Solidarity" while watching it on stage. The score also works a lot better while watching it on stage than listening to the CD. Now that I have the backround of how the songs fit in with the book, I may enjoy the cast recording more. The book of the show, by Lee Hall, was brilliant...I was immediately drawn into the show and allowed it to take me on a journey. Truly wonderful.
Congrats to the entire cast and crew of BILLY ELLIOT. Even though the economy is going down the tubes right now, people will still be shelling out $135 for a ticket to see this show. It will be a huge hit, and will likely win Best Musical and Best Lead Actor (joint nomination for all three). Tonight's audience absolutely LOVED the show and I can't wait to hear others' reactions on this board. Get tickets while you still can.
The sets were fine for the most part. The best set piece was Billy's bedroom, which emerged from underneath the center stage and grew to almost the top of the stage. Stunning. Also, the lighting for the big dance numbers was truly fantastic. The costumes were OK...appropriate for the show, but nothing groundbreaking.
The ensemble was excellent. All the kids (and there were a ton of them) were true professionals and they could all act and dance very well. The adults were also fantastic...nice to see David Larsen (the lead in GOOD VIBRATIONS) working again. He is also a cover for Tony. "Solidarity" was astounding. The direction/choreography of the number contributed to me getting chills...and I don't care for that song so much on the cast recording...it works so much better live.
Leah Hocking was touching as Dead Mum. Her song in Act 1 with Mrs. Wilkinson and Billy was beautiful. Thommie Retter was great as Mr. Braithwaite and had a lot of fun during his dance number "Born To Boogie." Santino Fontana was fine as Tony...would love to see David Larsen's take as well. Frank Dolci was on as Michael and he was absolutely hilarious. "Expressing Yourself" was a great showcase for him.
Carole Shelley was fantastic and Grandma. She sold her (really poorly written) song "We'd Go Dancing" in the beginning of Act 1. Plus, she had a bunch of great lines...her acting was superb. I'm thrilled that she was cast in this show.
Greg Jbara was perfect as Dad. He was so mean and nasty to Billy at the beginning and then during the audition process, he began to soften up and accept Billy and by the time "Electricity" happened, Greg's entire demeanor had changed. It was a transformation right in front of our eyes. Incredible. Congrats to him.
Haydn Gwynne was brilliant as Mrs. Wilkinson. She delivered every line to perfection and her big numbers "Shine," "Born To Boogie," and "Dear Billy" were wonderful. Congrats to her on making the move from the London production to the New York production. She fits in perfectly with the rest of the cast...and yes, she did get entrance applause from this first preview audience.
I had the pleasure of seeing Kiril Kulish as my first Billy...and he was astounding. The director Stephen Daldry came out before the show started and told the audience that this was Kiril's first time performing on stage ever, and the first time they were running through the show without stopping. Well, it went off without a hitch. Kiril is a brilliant dancer and a wonderful actor as well. He was able to carry the show on his shoulders with no problem at all. A natural. His "Angry Dance" was absolute perfection. His dream ballet with his older self made me cry, as did "Electricity," and I *never* cry at the theater. But those scenes and his performance moved me so much. As a gay man, who was at first not accepted by my father, but then ultimately accepted by him for who I am, the story really hit hard for me...and I loved it. One slight hitch...at the end of "Born To Boogie," Kiril is supposed to do a backflip off of the piano and he did it, but with a little help from one of the stagehands...he'll get it down to a science with more practice I'm sure! Congrats on a successful first performance ever on any stage. Wow. A home run.
As I had mentioned earlier, Elton John's score was kind of a mixed bag...not nearly as strong as his work in AIDA, but much better than LESTAT. My favorite songs are "Shine" and "Electricity," but as I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed "Solidarity" while watching it on stage. The score also works a lot better while watching it on stage than listening to the CD. Now that I have the backround of how the songs fit in with the book, I may enjoy the cast recording more. The book of the show, by Lee Hall, was brilliant...I was immediately drawn into the show and allowed it to take me on a journey. Truly wonderful.
Congrats to the entire cast and crew of BILLY ELLIOT. Even though the economy is going down the tubes right now, people will still be shelling out $135 for a ticket to see this show. It will be a huge hit, and will likely win Best Musical and Best Lead Actor (joint nomination for all three). Tonight's audience absolutely LOVED the show and I can't wait to hear others' reactions on this board. Get tickets while you still can.
Updated On: 10/2/08 at 12:40 AM
