BILLY ELLIOT REVIEW

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 6:03pm

once again, its long- but give it a read! Would love to hear feedback!

BILLY ELLIOT: The Musical


Are you looking for a fun, heartwarming musical this season? Billy Elliot The Musical might just be the one you’re looking for. This may not be a perfect product thats going to sweep the Tonys, but was quite the enjoyable evening.

The creative team, led by Director Stephen Daldry, was well done to suit the show. I felt like some scenes did not take account of sight lines, and some of Daldry’s direction was vague, but overall, well suited. The thick accents also made some of the performers difficult to understand. The Book, by Lee Hall, had its moments of hysterics, but also had its convoluted moments within the historical content, remedied by a short description of the Miners Strike in the program. The music of the show, composed by Sir Elton John, swung both ways (like John himself! Bad joke?) with some beautiful, touching songs, and fantastic upbeat tunes, and many boring, poorly written ballads of poor sad miners.

A Standout of the artistic team was choreography, by Peter Darling, which was beautifully staged and performed the entire show. Everything from the tap numbers, to the ballet and more modern dance numbers were excuisit, and well blended the dance world of Billy, and the world of the Miner’s strike.

Three young actors alternate the heavy dance role of Billy Elliot, an 11 year old son of a miner (Gregory Jbara) during the Miners Strike is Great Britain. Rather than attending boxing practice required by his father, Billy stumbles upon a young girls dance class, and the crass, chain smoking teacher (the hysterical Haydn Gwenne) helps to mold him into a dancer worthy of the National Ballet School in London. I had the pleasure of watching Kiril Kulish in the role of Billy.

Kulish, who has been dancing since he was 5 years old, was an absolute pleasure to watch onstage. Although he obviously was not classically trained as a vocalist, the audience willingly puts that aside for the grace and passion that shined every time he danced, and he was able to adequately act the role.

Jbara plays the role of Billy’s stern father with ease, and his transformation throughout the piece was evident. His touching portrayal of “Deep Into the Ground” was an extremely moving part of the show, and the real tears in his eyes allowed the audience to feel comfortable to do the same.

Carole Shelley provided great comic relief in the role of Billy’s Grandmother, and as always, is an immense pleasure to watch (though she was quite underused.) The remainder of the supporting cast was extremely strong, each actor creating their own personable character, from the hilarious boxing teacher (Joel Hatch) to Billy’s older brother Tony (portrayed loud and angrily by Santino Fontana).

With all the talent in the cast, the show seemed to lack equal aptitude in the creative team. The set, designed by Ian MacNeil, had its great elements, but overall did not have a cohesive design aesthetic needed in a big Broadway blockbuster show.
The majority of the show took place in the local YMCA (or town auditorium? Or maybe dining hall? Who knows- it was extremely convoluted), but these pieces entered and exited the stage awkwardly, because the legs needed to be fully flown for the pieces to move. The designer attempted (and in my opinion, failed) to create a box set onstage, and have everything else take place in the centre. The other less important locations within the YMCA innovatively came out of the walls, but as a designer myself, I imagine the sight lines for anyone sitting
left or right would be rather miserable.

The large spiral staircase that led to Billy’s Bedroom was extremely effective, best used during Billy’s “Angry Dance”, a passionate tap dance that expressed his anger, as well as the high tensions of the Miners strike; But unfortunately, for most book scenes, this unit seemed out of place on the stage, still filled with the main auditorium or town hall. Finally, was it me, or did the entire show seem off center? The odd perspective angles, and use of parallelograms, rather than rectangles, just made everything seem off to me. The lighting was purely adequate, but Rick Fishers talent was seen during the big blockbuster numbers, like “Expressing Yourself” (with hilarious, extremely innovative costumes by Nikki Gillibrand) as well as the dramatic, more abstract numbers based on dance, like “The Angry Dance”, “the dream Ballet,” and “Electricity.”

Overall, this is quite the hot ticket this season, and one not to be missed. I suggest everyone to experience this fantastic show for themselves, and come to their own conclusion…. That’s what I did- because hey… “what the hell is wrong with expressing yourself?”

[bundy5000]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 9:07pm

I heard some minor things have changed since i saw the 1st preview. I am interested to see them, along with how smoothly it goes now. I wonder if they'll remember me? :/

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 10:13pm

Where?