The new Billy Elliot love thread- Page 52

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 9:40am

i am going to see the show on saturday, i am sitting in row L orchestra right side partial view. how are the seats? is the view that bad??

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 10:23am

I sat in that exact seat once. The view isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't that good, either.

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 10:39am

how much do you miss? is it only minor things or do you miss major parts of the show?

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 12:56pm

billyelliotfan123, (possible spoiler alert) I can't speak for that seat exactly, but you might miss some of the shadow dance that is near the beginning of the show and likely miss Mum's appearances.

Has anyone else on the thread sat in the partial view seats in orchestra house left row D? My tickets are for there on Sunday for Trent's last show. The man at the box office told me you can see the red door, but I'm a little skeptical on that. When I was last in the theater for the Actors Fund show I ran over to get a view from that angle and it's pretty severe - the boxes even hang in your line of vision a bit. Anyone know for sure?

[Kev]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 3:26pm

Has anyone else on the thread sat in the partial view seats in orchestra house left row D?

Not exactly the info. you're looking for but, I sat in house left row G and the "partial view" seat was fantastic.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 4:23pm

Kev, thanks for that info! I'm still a little concerned that the difference between rows D and G is the difference between not seeing some things because of the closer angle and being able to see a few more things, but it makes me a lot more reassured!

[sgv123]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 4:46pm

I have been seated on the opposite side several times and the view is fine....the boxes do not interfere.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 4:51pm

Aren't the right more obstructed than the left anyways?

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 5:51pm

but how bad is he view on the right side?

[Geridith]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 6:09pm

Personally I much prefer the right side. Its true more of the set is cut off, but because of the way the set slants on the left side, the actors tend to face right MUCH more than left.

[billyelliotfan123]

Posted: 3/2/10 at 7:00pm

how much of the set will i miss? just entrances through the doors and the bathroom scenes?

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 3/3/10 at 2:15pm

Went to the show last night and had tickets for orchestra row A seats 1-3 (first row just next to the stairs entrance on extreme stage right). I've never sat house left (furthest over being A 108 in the center) and thought I'd give it a whirl. I wanted to sit near the stairs and see the set/show from that perspective. I was so excited to see Dayton as well as Trevor, since I'd never seen either one yet.

Geredith, I definitely agree with you - house right is by far superior - or, at least, where I sat was inferior - because of (1) sound levels and (2) set angle/sight lines.

(1) From the first minutes of the show, everything was so LOUD: there's a speaker just near those seats and the way the set is angled, it seems like everything is amplified right at you. I noticed everything, including things that aren't on microphones, was incredibly loud - for example, the toaster popping, the doors shutting, etc.

(2) The angle of the set meant that it was kind of difficult to see things on stage right, particularly upstage right. I also thought that the stage was raked not only from downstage to upstage like normal but also stage left to stage right... the upstage right corner seemed higher (to me, at least). And the staging! It really does seem like half the show was done with backs to house left. The dance numbers as viewed from that side were alright but the center line just seemed so far away (probably because it was). I didn't seem as off-center and angled when I've sat house right on the center aisle. There were some interesting things that I could see off stage left, such as Izzy switching her shoes in "Shine" to the taps, cast members handing off props, set pieces moving, etc. but it didn't make up for what I feel was a so-so view.

In short, A 1-3 were not my favorite seats for the show. For the second act I switched to my favorites, A 107-108 right behind the conductor. The view and sound levels were so much better; it was almost like a different show.

There were a few funny "blooper"-type moments in the show. Dayton tried to pick up the keys with his boxing gloves like they always do, then tried twice with his feet and couldn't get them, so he bent down and picked the keys up with his teeth! Also, Izzy knocked over the chair downstage right by the red doors when she left the dance/prior to the shadow dance. When "Grandma" and the kitchen table set pieces came up, I noticed that the toppled chair was only a few inches away from the gaping hole... good thing it didn't fall in!

I was so excited to see Dayton and he didn't disappoint. I thought he was (of course) an amazing dancer but also a very good actor. He has such a nice range of emotion and great expressions; his tears and grins seemed so authentic. I love his Dream Ballet. He seemed like he was genuinely having the time of his life, especially while flying - all smiles, big grins. It's nice to see someone enjoying himself so much; I couldn't help but grin myself. I absolutely LOVED his "Electricity" - I hadn't seen it yet and wanted to know what street moves they had added to make it fit Dayton and his style. How does he move like that?! So cool. After seeing the original three Billy boys when they were so big (Kiril - 6/09, David - last show, Trent 2/2/10), it's nice to have seen Michael (2/24/10) and Dayton while they are still smaller. They're all just so talented.

As I mentioned it was my first time seeing Trevor. For those who have seen him several times over the course of his run - was he a lot different when he first started in the show? I've now seen David B., Keean, Jake and Trevor, and I prefer the Michaels in that order thus far. I felt like he wasn't as authentic, enthusiastic or excitable as others. Moments seemed forced and at times like he was trying too hard for a laugh. On top of that, his voice is so low! Was it completely unbroken when he first started? I wish I had seen him in "Beauty" and "Mermaid" so I could compare his performances in various shows. I wish him the best in all his endeavors, but I feel like it wasn't the best I've seen in a "Michael."

Overall, an interesting experience from the seats in the first act and a wonderful Billy. Out of the current boys, I just need to see Liam and Alex, when he returns and I can't wait for those performances!

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 3/14/10 at 8:28pm

For all those interested: Frank Dolce's show, "Sons of Tucson" premiers tonight at 9:30 on FOX. I would love to watch, as it looks like it's going to be great, but it's on during "Desperate Housewives" which is my first love.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 4:37pm

Thought I'd bump this back up!

On 3/11, I saw Liam as Billy and he was absolutely amazing. Quick question though: during "Born to Boogie" he didn't do the Berani off the piano but instead did an acro move on ground level. Anyone know why in particular? Just curious.

Did anyone on here go to Alex's first show back?! Any info on how it went would be great. I wanted to so badly and I even made it to the box office (barely) but couldn't spend over $80 for a partial view rear mezz seat. I figure I'll catch him next time or soon.

[sgv123]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 4:54pm

Usually when there is no jump off the piano, that is just a precaution if they are injured or if they are short on Billy's...they don't want to risk another injury.

From what I have heard, Alex was great...even better looking then his 1st performance in October. His knees were both heavily wrapped.

[willep]

Posted: 3/18/10 at 1:36pm

Best of luck to the Chicago cast tonight!!

[justafan2]

Posted: 3/31/10 at 12:25pm

When was Alex's first show back? I saw him on Sunday (matinee)--he was amazing! (knees heavily wrapped). I just love this show and I think it gets better each time I see it. This was probably mentioned somewhere in these 50-something pages, but when was the "wire-flying" part removed from Billy's dance in the second act? I personally think the piece works better w/o it.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 3/31/10 at 1:47pm

justafan2, are you referring to the "Dream Ballet" where Billy dances with his older self? As far as I know, they still fly the younger Billy in the middle section of that dance. You might have just been to a show where, for some reason, the flying mechanisms were not working. Dayton performed on his birthday earlier this month and got stuck hanging above the stage for awhile until they fixed it, so flying issues are possible.

[justafan2]

Posted: 3/31/10 at 5:29pm

Yes, broadway_show_fan, I was referring to the "dream ballet". I didn't realize there was a problem with the mechanism. I don't really love that part, (altho' there's very little about the show I don't love) but, hopefully they'll fix it so no one gets stuck again. :)

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 4/1/10 at 11:01am

I don't believe there is a frequent problem with the mechanism, just that there is a chance, and thus they might omit the flying when there have been problems in a previous show or during the checks before the show.

justafan2, what did they do in place of the flying? Did the young and older Billys just do other ballet sequences?

AND - Congrats to the London Billy Elliot production on 5 years!

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/1/10 at 11:33am

To post this for the thousandth time - you can check to see when a certain Billy was one. twitter.com/betmny If you notice, Dayton has been out for a while after the incident with the flying device.
Updated On: 4/1/10 at 11:33 AM

[justafan2]

Posted: 4/1/10 at 11:59am

Yes, Broadway_show_fan, they included more ballet movement in place of the flying sequence. I didn't concentrate on the moves themselves because I was waiting for older Billy to hook up younger Billy to fly and it never happened! :)
They were not completely in sync with their moves --- now I understand---it probably wasn't very well known choreography that was substituted for that (those) performance(s)where they don't include the flying. I can't wait for Gregory J. to return!

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 4/1/10 at 3:40pm

taylor - what exactly happened to Dayton that day? Is the flying issue the direct cause of an injury, which resulted in his absence for the last 2 weeks? Or is that a coincidence - that there was a flying mishap and that he's been out?

[shrekster224]

Posted: 4/1/10 at 5:04pm

broadway_show_fan- what happened to Dayton was that they he got hooked into the wire, and he started to do the flying, but somewhere in the middle the wire stopped moving and he was left isolated in the air, and Older Billy was trying to hold him to spin or something to cover it up, but he couldn't and Dayton was left hanging there so they had to close the curtain.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 4/1/10 at 5:08pm

shrekster - thanks for that description, but I was kind of wondering if the flying problem and Dayton's absence from the show were related. To me, that is what taylorPHENOMENON2 is implying.