Is Merle Louise Still In BILLY ELLIOT?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 12:04am

If so, who is she playing now?

Thanks.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 12:21am

Jordan - as of this last week, she was still on the cast board, and I saw her in the show last on September 18. She plays the same track that she's always played in the role - that of an older woman in the town (in the ensemble). She still understudies the role of "Grandma."

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 12:22am

Awesome, thank you SO much for that! :)

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 12:29am

You're welcome! Are you a fan of Merle's work? Have you seen her as Grandma? She played very differently from Carole Shelley.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 12:31am

I haven't seen her as Grandma. I only saw BILLY ELLIOT's first preview a few years ago. I won tickets at the flea market for next week and just wanted to make sure she was still in the show because I am a fan of hers.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 12:36am

Surprised she's doing ensemble work -- is it a "good" ensemble role? (Haven't seen the show).

[singtopher]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 3:39am

It's not a featured ensemble role by any means. I'm sure she's happy for the paycheck, and I'm sure she plays the hell out of Grandma when she goes on.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 4:35am

Love her. Met her at the stage door after a performance of Kiss of the Spider Woman in L.A. and she was just the sweetest.

Have loved her work since first listening to her on the original Broadway cast recording of Sweeney Todd and seeing her on the televised Into the Woods as Little Red's granny/Cinderella's mother.

She has this rich quality to her voice that stands out and it inflects beautifully. I had no idea she was still performing and it's wonderful to know she is.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 9:46am

According to playbill, the role also has a standby. Is Louise the second cover?

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 11:16am

She's always gone on when Shelley is out. To my knowledge, no one other than the two of them has ever played Grandma on Broadway.

I LOVE Louise as Grandma. Very lively and funny. Her accent is totally all over the place, but I much prefer her in the role.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 11:16am

Double post. Updated On: 10/9/11 at 11:16 AM

[shrekster224]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 12:35pm

Playbill has not been updated for some time. Patti Perkins is actually the full time Grandma on tour. When she was in rehearsals they billed her as the standby on Broadway last summer. Merle is the first cover, and I saw her once and she was great. She performed Grandma's Song amazingly, she was so funny.

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 10/9/11 at 12:52pm

I saw Merle as Grandma, and she was a riot!