BILLY ELLIOT's score...- Page 2

[americanboy99]

Posted: 5/18/09 at 3:57pm

Not the best score ever, but with the staging, most are brilliant. Especially "Solidarity."

I've never seen a song more brilliantly staged than that act one number. It was brilliant beyond belief. A true collaboration of dance and storytelling. Fantastic. That number along with the spine-tingling act one finale will win both Daldry and Darling Tonys.

I would say score is NEXT TO NORMAL's to lose, but I wouldn't be surprised if John and Hall take it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/18/09 at 4:15pm

I think the score is what it needs to be. I remember the first time I saw the movie and there's that moment when the woman asks Billy what it feels like when he's dancing and the camera zooms in on his face and he has this really long monologue and says "I can't really explain it. It's like electricity." And that was the first moment when I think a lot of people thought to themselves that it should have been a musical. Then the stage version comes along and we have a song that starts out "I can't really explain it. I haven't got the words... it's like electricity sparks inside of me." and there was this moment of bliss where I felt like someone finally did something right.

Having said that, I do think Next to Normal has the better score, but I certainly understand why Billy may and probably will take the Tony.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/18/09 at 4:31pm

I love the Billy Elliot score. It's simple when it needs to be, grandiose when it needs to be, and above all, it services the show beautifully. Every song makes so much sense when you see it onstage. Yes, this is also because of the wonderful staging, but it is exactly the kind of score that the musical needs. It's not trying to be this or that; it just works, and it works incredibly well. In that way, it's brilliant and I think deserves to win the Tony for Best Original Score. It's chilling and touching.

I feel the same way about the orchestrations actually. It's quiet and simple (at times, just piano, brass quintet, woodwind duo), it's bold (full orchestra for the climaxes of group numbers), it's whimsical (mallet or synth features and solos, not afraid to do disco or big Broadway), and it perfectly mirrors Billy's emotions during his big dance numbers at the end of both acts. Again, it just works, and it works incredibly well, perfectly servicing the show.

I see Billy winning the Tonys for both Original Score and Orchestrations, just like it did at the Drama Desks.

~Steven

[Scripps2]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 4:22pm

There has also been considerable effort to make the score appropriate for time, place and culture. For example the melancholic and plaintive brass theme that opens The Stars Look Down deliberately echoes the brass bands that were associated with many collieries and other music associated with British working class communities (see the Ewan McGregor film Brassed Off or listen to the unchanging 50 year old theme music for Coronation Street). Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher echoes the Christmas songs that were in the British charts at that time. The orchestrations for Electricity and Angry Dance also put the action in time and place.

Now I know there's nothing in the Broadway rule book that says you have to make a score appropriate, but equally the production team have been clear in interviews that they wanted this show to echo the culture of its characters; even if doing so meant ignoring the Broadway rule book. So on its own terms it succeeds, and even though the show may not tick all the boxes on the Broadway checklist the overall reception it has had would suggest that it still adds up to a lot more than the sum of its parts.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 4:51pm

I didn't understand the staging for "Solidarity" until I saw the movie. What the movie accomplishes by cutting back and forth between the police force and ballet class does not work as a huge number onstage. The idea of policemen dancing with the ballerinas is ill conceived. I think that's the major problem of Billy Elliot: the creative team assumes you know the movie and gives little consideration for those who don't. I had no idea that Dad going through the Miss Saigon fences was suppose to symbolize that he was defying the strike. The score constantly meanders away from the plot ("Boogie" is the exception). The rest of the numbers are all "character development" as are the choreographed sequences. The score is extremely repetitive in terms of economy and construction. "Swan Lake" accomplishes the same thing as "Electricity." I came out of the theater with "Solidarity, solidarity, solidarity forever," "When the stars look down . . . when the stars look down," and "Electricity" playing over and over in my head. The rest of the score is not memorable. I realize that I'm probably the only person who was sorely disappointed by Billy Elliot, but that's just my opinion.
Updated On: 5/20/09 at 04:51 PM

[teka21]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 5:12pm

I LOVED the film and was left lukewarm in the theater. Other than "Solidarity" none of the score grabbed me. I hated that Born to Boogie number with the big cutouts dancing. Very cheesy, and cheapened the wonderful character of Michael- in the film he is a real boy, vulnerable, not the hammy caricature he is in the show.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 5:16pm

The idea of policemen dancing with the ballerinas is ill conceived.

I disagree completely. The show is called Billy Elliot because while the ballet and politics give us the backdrop, it is really about Billy. Seeing the two conflicting worlds clash and collide in his life in a way that they blend with confusion perfectly illustrates Billy's conflicting emotions and his strain and effort to make sense of them.

[louderthanwords870]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 5:20pm

The film is definitely one of my favorites, and having seen it before I'd seen the show, I understood some of the staging more, and loved it overall. I'd much rather see Next to Normal win, though.

Billy Elliot has Best Choreography in the bag, for obvious reasons.

[TheBoyDownstairs]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 5:54pm

I think the score is very effective, it works very well within the show. Sure there aren't a ton of stand outs (the only songs I really listen to from the cast album are "Grandma's Song" and "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher") but within the show its very solid.

Is it anywhere close to Next to Normal's score? No. But its definitely not a bad score.

[little_sally]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 6:15pm

I don't think it's as bad as everyone says it is. I adore "Shine" and I think "Once We Were Kings," "The Stars Look Down," and "The Letter" are outstanding. There are a lot of songs I just can't stand to listen to though. That being said, "Next to Normal" does deserve the Tony.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 8:13pm

I found "Solidarity" absolutely brilliant.

But I do understand the confusion in the second act. Some of the plot points seemed a bit muddled- definitely a book problem.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/21/09 at 12:37am

Scripps, I was thinking the same exact thing as I listened to the cast recording today. The music and orchestrations completely reflect the culture, setting, times, etc. Masterfully done.

~Steven

[TBD2]

Posted: 5/21/09 at 12:20pm

"The idea of policemen dancing with the ballerinas is ill conceived."

I too must disagree. DefyingGravity: Have you never seen a father-daughter dance at a recital, I think it's pretty standard fare. Fathers involved may be policemen, or teachers, or miners on strike. Solidarity is meant to show many things taking place over many weeks, rehearsal for a father-daughter number seems well concieved and shows how the factions have to interact even when not on the picket line.

Perhaps you are saying that policemen can't conceive daughters, in which case I misunderstood and have no response.

Ed