Billy Elliot The Musical- Page 136

[Jeff3]

Posted: 6/11/06 at 7:37pm

Leon Cooke has signed a new contract, extending his run in the title role unil September.

Leon was the first new Billy after the original three. As such, he missed out on some of the kudos and - specificaly - on the awards heaped on the original cast. When Stephen Daldry introduced Travis Yates (No 5) on his opening night he presented him as "The Fourth Billy" in front of a packed house.

But Leon has slowly gathered a huge following. He is a really engaging performer. I will always remember the night he took over from a weary and overworked Travis at half time. He got a tremendous reception at his appearance. It was amazing how a feeling of complete assurance overwhelmed us. He is truely the dependable professional.

I also remember reading about the night he had a very nasty accident as he descended from his bed to perform the angry dance. I was writing a very bad set of limericks at the time about the then cast. The third verse - about Leon - marked that occasion:

With Leon it's all blood and gore.
He fell through a hole in the floor.
Though they called it a freak,
He was out for a week,
But, thank goodness, he came back for more.

By September he will have done a year in the role. What a star!

[matthew3]

Posted: 6/13/06 at 7:38am

Thanks for the update, Jeff. Do you know how long the American boy (Colin) is staying with the show? And when is Liam due to leave? I was really out of touch until rff gave me the latest news but where are they up to with a New York show?

[Jeff3]

Posted: 6/13/06 at 8:08am

I don't know when Colin's leaving. He's by far the oldest (older than George Maguire!) but, so far as I know, he's still going strong. I don't know when Liam's leaving either, but not before September. It strikes me that both of these plus Leon will be getting close to expiry by the autumn, so that could be a volatile period. But, who knows? Certainly not me... as I have demonstrated.

[Chris T]

Posted: 6/13/06 at 2:03pm

Leon and Liam both signed contacts through to September when Layton and Dean are due to start as Billy. Colin will have have done six months then, including a two month lay off, I guess the question with him is how long is it until his voice breaks (they can cope with that providing it doesn't get too low) and how long before he looks too old.

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 6/14/06 at 5:28pm

I LOVE Leon! I love all the original 4 Billys I saw! They are so different but owns the role in their way. I am still waiting to see the new Billys (Travis/Matthew/Colin).... but there are TOO many shows in the Westend right now and I have limited amount of money!

[vmlinnie]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 6:19pm

Ive only seen Liam and Travis. First was Travis, Upper Circle, 16th February 06, he's really small and looked even smaller from all the way up there, but was brill. Loved the show so much I was back on February 28th, Stalls seat E4, great view of Liam, completely blew me away, especially Electricity. Both times Brad played Michael.

I know Its off-topic but I decide to get it out there. Ive observed this thread for a while but never got involved till now.

[JamesMacon]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 3:20pm

Hey, I saw Billy Elliot on July 7th with Liam Mower, who was amazing. I later found out that he was the Billy on the CD, so that was exciting. But the whole show was phenomenal. It is more than a musical; there is dancing, back-flipping, tapping, and some intense acting scenes. It was a lot of fun. Does anyone know about plans of it coming to Broadway?

[BroadwayBulldog]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 10:51pm

^

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 11:01pm

Why does BroadwayBulldog always seem to show up when there's spamming?

[Chris T]

Posted: 7/25/06 at 11:27am

I think Colin's 16. He's certainly the oldest of the current crop, although by all accounts Liam looks older. There's no confirmed leaving dates, but Layton and Dean are due to start in September and Travis Yates is scheduled to return as Billy at some point.

[JamesMacon]

Posted: 7/27/06 at 7:47pm

I have my London playbill-esque booklet. It does not give an age for Leon, but it says that Matthew and Liam are both 12. I thought Liam was older, but this is from a month ago.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 7/27/06 at 7:54pm

I know that the coreography for the BIlly's is individualized towards the certain Billy's strength in Dance. Some Billy's dances are primarily tap while others are ballet and hip hop. Does anybody know what Colin's is?

[tzwicky2]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 5:31pm

Colin's Billy Elliot numbers in the show of the same name, are "all that" and a squazillion times more.

And his faby new haircut works well, too.

[missy2]

Posted: 8/3/06 at 10:15pm

I saw the show on July 17th - does anybody know who I saw in it.

I loved it by the way!!!

[David3]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 3:50pm

Chloe, Liam is 14, Leon is 15, Travis is 13, Colin is nearly 16 and Matthew is 11 or 12.

Missy2, Colin Bates played Billy on Monday 17 July 2006.

[Christopher Gough]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 6:00pm

What a load of bolloc*s. It'll never cross the pond. Its simply not good enough.

[Electricity]

Posted: 8/10/06 at 4:55am

I'm glad you're a fan Christopher

[matthew3]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 5:41pm

WestEndPro - read your private messages.

[chattaboxx]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 4:17am

Hi I discovered this board last week and it has taken me this long to work out how to reply - I read the first page and then realised how long it was so came to the last page :)
Was wondering, westendpro, if you knew if Leon is leaving in September?
Also, last week was the first time I saw Billy Elliot (oh my goodness I couldn't even describe the amazingness of it) and I saw Leon, Ryan and Leigh. I really want to go again but my mum thinks I will be disappointed and thinks I will compare everything. I was wondering if those of you who have been more than once think it was worth it and what's the experience like?

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 10:17am

u wont be disappointed 2nd time trust me! I've seen it only 6 times.. yes ONLY 6 times with the 3 originals and Leon. Its amazing, seeing different Billys, different choreography and the direction is so amazing that you won't get bored!
There are fans who've seen it like 20 or more times and they're still lovin it! GO WATCH IT AGAIN!

[chattaboxx]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 10:27am

lol thanks!! I will show this message to my mum because I am so desperate to go again - have actually become pretty obsessed since coming back from the show (saw it on August 14th this year) and found this forum and was like WOW.
So how have you found it - a lot different each time?

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 8/26/06 at 1:35pm

I sat at different places in the theatre each time, I've sat on every single level in the theatre and what u can see is so different. Each time, I find some new elements to the show and also I find something I didn't realize last time.
And also the kids are so different as well, different Billys with different Michaels with different Debbies... there's quite a few combinations for ya!
So it's definitely worth checkin it out again, esp Liam before he leaves Sept!

[chattaboxx]

Posted: 8/27/06 at 3:16pm

well I'm not going to get a chance to go before Liam leaves which is a real shame but I was kinda hoping to get there soonish. Ooooh I really want to go again!! lol

[matthew3]

Posted: 2/19/07 at 8:55am

Well, it seems that this board has finally come to an end and it's left to me to wind it up. I feel like the last one left at the end of a party, when everyone else has gone - there's nothing left only the memories of the good times we had (if you've just discovered this board look back over 137 pages and you'll see what I mean). We did have a great time, sharing not just our experiences but also our feelings. I'd like to think that, in this awful world, we all grew to know ourselves a little better and to appreciate that warmth and love can bring people together. Ironically, it took a child to show us this.

I know some of you have gone on to other "parties" - at billyelliotfans.com and billyelliottthe musical.com. I called in on these but there were so many people there I got confused and left early. Probably time to move on anyway.

So farewell everyone, have a great life. And to WestEndPro, wherever you are, thanks.

Matthew
Updated On: 2/19/07 at 08:55 AM

[vmlinnie]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 3:52pm

I know Matthew rounded this thread up, but could i please be so bold as to try and rescue it?

Firstly, I wasn't here when Matthew did his round-up, so i didn't see the thread up then.

I never posted here much. I wasn't one of the usual suspects on the thread. But it was this thread that introduced me to broadway world! Nine months and almost 2,000 posts later, I'm very grateful that it did. Billy Elliot is such an inspirational show, and this thread was the best place to discuss it, better than the fans forum in my opinion. Could we please make this a bump to rememeber?