Billy Elliot The Musical — Page 28

Well, to be honest I just want to be there to wish James and Ashley good luck. Where I sit isn't important. I'd have stood at the back and sold Ice Creams just to be there.

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You are so lucky to be going tomorrow guys!
Have a brilliant time and make sure you give them a good send off!!

hi every1!!!
im sooooooo soooo sooooo upset james is going , no one can replace him!!!!!!!!!please take loadsa pics and upload them on the comp so we can see them!!!
i am going to miss u james so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
luv ya all
claire XXXXXXXx

Does anyone know what James is doing after he finishes? Does anyone have any pictures of him cause he is fantasic?

row a dress circle should be good!? i got my tickets now too yay ah im so excited so sad to see them leave good luck everyone in tonights show and all shows yet to come, il be there to throw the roses but er i think we need to watch out for the ballet girls tights! x

That person taking the photos was out of order! i hope that Ashley and James enjoy their last performances along with the ballet girls! good luck also to Leon and Joey for their first show on the 19th, they must be very nervous!
Sorry to change the subject, especially when today is the last their last performnace, but has anybody heard any more about the cast recording. I cant wait any longer!
Good Luck everyone who will be performing for the last time, make it your best show yet!
GMFan!! X

dont forget guys!
when u come back from james's last performance send in the pics!!! we'd all LOVE to see them!!!
im going to miss james so much!!!!
xcx

Couldn't get to the show. What happened?

Hi everyone

I've been lurking around this board for a while and thought I'd say hello and share some details of the talk that Stephen Daldry and Lee Hall gave in the foyer bar between shows today (17th)I hope that some of you regulars were lucky enough to attend too ... although I only know of 1 for sure!

Firstly Lee gave us some insight into the creative process between himself and Elton John for the songwriting. Basically they wrote the songs before he had written the book, which resulted in much more song wastage than is normal in the process of writing a musical. It would be really interesting to get hold of some of those songs that didn't make it even to the previews!

He and Stephen then explained about the workshops that they held to test out the songs and staging, giving particular attention to the 'Solidarity' sequence which appears to be a favourite of theirs ... as it is for a good few of 'us' too

Then Stephen spoke briefly about the rehearsal and preview period and how long it took for the 'Billys' to attain the levels of stamina needed to sustain their performances on a regular basis. He also mentioned the possible future 'Billys' who the company keep under their wing for up to 18 months before possibly using them in the show!

There was a very brief Q&A at the end when someone finally managed to ask an interesting question .... "What song that they had to drop for time reasons during the creative/preview process did they most regret losing" (I paraphrase!)The answer was "Goodbye Grandma" (or something like that! ... I know it's a favourite of all who heard it but I, unfortunately, never got to hear it myself so forgive me if the title's incorrect!!)Anyway,Stephen said they were so sorry that they had to drop the song that they are determined to get it back into the show eventually .... great news for all who heard and loved it, and for all who are waiting to hear it!

That was about it ... only around 25 minutes but very interesting and lovely to see that both Lee and Stephen are very down to earth and likable. Thanks very much to them for taking the time to give us a small insight into the show on what was such a busy and emotional day.

Roll on Monday ... looking forward to seeing Leon on his Opening Night

Well, I've just arrived home from tonight's show and all I can say is boy what a show!!!

In the finest of the West End traditions, the boys were given the best send off possible, and I'm sure there wasn't a dry eye in the house by the end of the performance both on and off stage.

Will we miss these guys...? Of course we will! But I really believe that we haven't seen the last of James Lomas and Ashley Lloyd. These guy's showed a maturity and depth of charachter tonight that proved just how these two young men have the determination and ability to make it in the tough world that is show business.

Anyway to the show!

As I took my seat in the dress circle, I was pleased to see that joining us for the performance were Liam, George, Leon, Ryan, Brad, Joey, Lucy, Brooke and a few of the other children from the cast of the show. A touch that for me added to the excitement of the occasion.

The evenings proceedings began with a brief speech by Stephen Daldry. He basically wanted to thank both James and Ashley, along with all of the children who were leaving the cast, for all their hard work; he also took the opportunity to thank their respective families for being so supportive. Stephen seemed genuinely moved, and you could tell that loosing this part of the Billy Elliot family is a real wrench for him personally.

The show itself was as good as ever and I really felt that James and Ashley made every effort to give it everything they had, and they certainly did.

A few touching moments for me personally were, Anne Emery's added "and for the last time, we'd go dancing" to James during the final verse of "We'd Go Dancing", and then in "The Letter" scene, both in the first half of the show and then again in the second half of the show with the subsequemt reply, James himself was visibly moved.

At the end of the show Tim Healy made a very brief but nice speech, and pulled both James and Ashley's parents on to the stage. Tim then pulled Liam and George up on stage for a final encore.

All in all a great night.

I hope I've covered the majority of the evening, and please forgive me for any ommisions or errors, it's late and I'm now really tired

Take care

The cast recording should be out by Christmas this year if not before.

Updated On: 10/30/05 at 09:09 PM

I am sorry to tell you this, but I doubt that Billy Elliot The Musical will go to America - it is a very 'English' musical and the Americans might not appreciate the specific jokes.

Updated On: 10/30/05 at 11:07 PM

somebody said about george's behaviour last night... what did he do??