BILLY ELLIOT reviews- Page 2

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 9:17pm

He didn't really divulge much detail in any of the performances...he devoted like a paragraph and a half to details about the performances and only really focused on Alvarez and Gwynne.

But that is a great review! The cast and crew should be very proud.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 9:23pm

I would expect those $41.50 seats to be going up VERY soon !!!

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 9:24pm

USA Today gives the show 3 Stars out of 4:

'...Mind you, the working-class types on display at the Imperial Theatre, where the musical opened Thursday, are obviously not from our side of the Atlantic — their thick Geordie accents occasionally threaten to bury the dialogue.

Luckily, neither original screenwriter Lee Hall's libretto nor the lyrics he wrote to accompany Elton John's unapologetically sentimental score require us to hear every word. The characters are drawn in broad strokes, with good humor but little nuance; their function is more to serve a larger message than to relay compelling idiosyncrasies.'

http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/2008-11-13-billy-elliot_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 9:30pm

The $41.50 seats will probably go upto $81.50, with maybe the last row in the theatre being $61.50, if the producers want to be generous.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 9:33pm

I heard at the box office a few weeks ago, that most likely all of the $41.50 seats will be going up to $66.

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 10:31pm

I'm so happy.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 10:39pm

yikes...maybe i should grab some more $41 tix while i still can.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 10:59pm

I bought two pair over the last few days. At least I can get two more viewings in before they go up.

The prices over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks are intense - 146.50 for orchestra and front mezzanine seats!

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 11:13pm

Really I'm going December 26th.
First Row Centre Mezz. $121

Must have raised that recently.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 11:36pm

TheaterMania is positive:

http://theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/16232

"Anyone feeling curmudgeonly about Billy Elliot: The Musical, now at Broadway's Imperial Theatre, could take exception to the time it expends picking up dramatic steam or to the indisputably effective but surprisingly traditional Elton John-Lee Hall score or to the couple of seemingly redundant production numbers that stretch the proceedings to the kind of length that often tests children's -- and some adults' -- attention spans. But one would have to be a true sourpuss to carp about the gangbuster entertainment package that's finally landed in Manhattan under the scrupulous direction of Stephen Daldry.

....

That Billy ultimately gets where he wants to go, and that his father and brother support him despite earlier political inclinations, prejudices and misgivings, is not unexpected. What does make the heart leap -- or should one say jete -- is how Billy gets there. The curly-black-mopped, thin-shouldered Alvarez plays the boy as an abashed youth who gains stature once he places trust in Mrs. Wilkinson's firm statement that "dancing is as much about discovering things about yourself as it is discovering things about dancing." He not only discovers Billy's depth; he repeatedly illuminates them through explosive dancing, acceptable singing, and raw but affecting emoting"

[sgv123]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 11:39pm

here are short promo clips of " Shine" and " Angry Dance"

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=4hRhkFwoKnQ

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=r4foXk4hhbk

and a standing O for David!

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=0R5i0JbVZW0

[EugLoven]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 11:41pm

TERRIFIC!!!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 11:43pm

I can't believe ELECTRICITY is getting a mid-show standing O!

Well...actually, I kinda can. It's a beautiful moment. And David is incredible.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 11:49pm

The LA Times is mixed:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2008/11/theater-review.html

"“Billy Elliot: The Musical,” the stage version of Stephen Daldry’s heartwarming movie about an 11-year-old lad who dons a pair of ballet slippers in defiance of his coal-mining father’s cramped notions of masculinity, confirms a truth that really didn’t need confirming after “Mamma Mia!” — there’s a thin line between a mega-hit and a mega-mediocrity.

...

David Alvarez, the Billy I caught (there are three), is an absolute marvel of balletic grace. The poise of his movement is mesmerizing, and the way his eyes blaze with desire to attain perfect physical form sheds light on his character’s uphill quest. You can’t help cheering for him, even as you wish his acting (on par with a dance double) was as confident as his arabesque.

...

If “Billy Elliot” had stayed true to this simplicity, it could have broken more than Broadway’s bank."

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 11:57pm

I do hope they wouldn't be tacky enough to raise the $41 seats to a price any higher. I sat in them on Monday, and I have to say that the view was pretty dreadful. I'm used to sitting at the rear of the house (that's what I can afford), but those seats at the Imperial (especially pm tje far sides) are among the worst of any house.

I actually didn't really enjoy BE. I thought it had glimmers of greatness but that it just didn't connect. I actually wonder how much of that had to do with where I was sitting. Certainly some moments (Solidarity, Angry Dance) were wonderfully absorbing, but the second act felt so uneven and (I almost hate to admit it--I really didn't like Billy). And that curtain call! I thought it would never end.

In any case, the point is, I think I might have enjoyed the show more if I felt closer to it (physically but also emotionally). So it would be unfortunate for them to raise the prices just because they can.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/13/08 at 11:57pm

This is certainly an odd crop of reviews...really all over the board. And many were positive but not very enthused...

But I'm thrilled about the Times!

Anxious to see what Barnes has to say about it...

(PS: The Word of Mouth video is up but it won't play for some reason.)

[yankees1253]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 12:56am

thanks for the magazine, newspaper and website reviews. i am def excited to see the show.
i will def try and find more later on this morning and post them here.

here are people who went with elton john last night of the opening.
from journal news hudson lower valley:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/THEATER_BILLY_ELLIOT_OPENING?SITE=NYWHI&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Joining John at Thursday's performance: Barbara Walters, Rosie O'Donnell, Ron Howard, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Spacey, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and tennis legend Billie Jean King.

[jeffrey1dog]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 1:16am

Clive Barnes is on vacation but the NY Post gave it **** stars

https://www.nypost.com/seven/11142008/entertainment/theater/eltons_tiny_dancer_show_raises_the_barre_138530.htm

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 1:38am

I basically agree with ALL the critics! There were aspects of the show I absolutely LOVED and others I almost hated. But I still left the Imperial feeling I had experienced something exhilarating, uplifting and deeply moving. I can't wait to see it again. And again. And again.

Way to go, Greg! And Cast!!!

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 1:43am

This makes me SO happy.

"Billy Elliot" is a musical of the moment - just as we needed a level of stylish escapism with "No, No, Nanette" in the 70's do we now need a musical that finds pure hope and passion during hard times, and an embrace of what some may call "schmaltzy".

Daldry has staged something that embodies pure hope, love, and passion during a time when we need nothing more than that - when our country has rallied behind a message of hope, passion, and change over hard nosed, hard edged, cynical ideals.

Billy Elliot has brought me such an emotional catharsis that has never been achieved by any other show - shmatlzy? maybe. But Daldry has achieved a pure mastery of theatrical rhythm in which people are completely drawn into a tear-jerker in the purest sense - one in which the conflict on stage make you cry and at the same time feel good about crying. I haven't felt this strongly about a show since my first time seeing "Les Miserables".
Updated On: 11/14/08 at 01:43 AM

[Dre2387]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 2:57am

I love this part of Brantley's review:

"Mr. Darling’s surreal blending of Mrs. Wilkinson’s dance class with a clash between miners and police is one of the freshest, most exciting uses of narrative dance I’ve seen in years."

I couldn't agree with him more. and one of my friends hated this part. why? it makes so much sense and works so well.

and yeah, Greg should have had more than just a one word review.

congrats to everyone involved!

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 3:20am

Ben Brantley's review makes me very excited to see this show. Better get the cheap tickets while I can! I hope they're going to still be available...

~Steven

[bschneid76]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 7:57am

I am happy for the great reviews. I really enjoyed the show. Although, it is going to be hard to try to see it again, when I saw it there were 3 malfunctions with the set and the finale wasn't in due to the new flooring they put in. But overall I thought it was amazing!

I will have to wait till spring to try to see it again, as those prices are outrageous!

[Salene]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 8:04am

http://www.silk.fm/node/827146

NEW YORK - It's not often that a musical comes along that is as ambitious as it is emotional - and then succeeds on both counts.

But "Billy Elliot," which opened Thursday at Broadway's Imperial Theatre, is an exceptional work that exemplifies what the best musicals are all about: collaboration. Everything comes together in this impressive, warmhearted adaptation of the 2000 British film about a North Country coal miner's young son who yearns to dance and join the Royal Ballet School in London.

[Salene]

Posted: 11/14/08 at 8:20am

http://www.northjersey.com/entertainment/stage/34445214.html

The already legendary show, which opened in London in 2005 to wild acclaim, is, under the brilliant direction of Stephen Daldry, extraordinarily inventive. But – and here's the show-biz genius – its imagination is not used to break new ground; it pumps fresh life into the crowd-pleasing, old-fashioned, traditional musical.


Updated On: 11/14/08 at 08:20 AM