By this time many of you have read one of my “mass” reviews, in which I review a batch of shows in one long essay. So here we go again, this time with a review of 8 BETMs in London from May 7th through May 13th, including the ill-fated REAL 5th Anniversary show!
Let me say that from the moment when I first saw the scrim fall down on small boy, I knew I had arrived at the “mother church” of Billy Elliot and that I was destined to see some great shows. I was not disappointed.
My first show was with Tom Holland, who I had seen in October, 2008 at my very first Billython! My next statement will now insure that this post will never be seen in the “UK” forum: Tom Holland is the best acting Billy I have ever seen! Bar none! Some have come close, but none of them are as good as Tom. His timing, his delivery are spot on, and when he started crying during the Letter, I was sure someone would turn to me and say, “Oh, this is his last show.” It was beyond convincing; it was real!
But that should be expected. Some people may forget that with the departures of Trent and Fox, Tom is now the “senior” Billy, a title which will pass on to Tommy B. (I think) when Tom leaves at the end of the month.
So here is where I am really going to get in trouble. While the Broadway show overall has better dancers, especially when it comes to ballet, the London show has much better actors and singers! Across the board they are superb. Someone in London got it right when they decided that maybe we should have kids who can act. And sing.
And I think that Tom and Ollie are great “street” Billys. In fact, I loved their Electricity routines. I disagree with those who think that Electricity needs more ballet. It is about Billy trying to express his love for dance and movement, and it doesn’t need to be all ballet!
Speaking of it, Rhys and Dean Charles are okay at ballet, and will no doubt get stronger, especially Rhys who is relatively new. I enjoyed a well done ballet Electricity, which is one thing lacking in the UK, especially after seeing Kiril and David on Broadway.
Speaking of dance, Ollie does an Angry Dance that is just awesome, powerful and intense, and his scream at the end is long and loud, followed by a loud “f*** off” at the audience as he walks off stage.
The last show I saw Rhys do had a wonderful Dream Ballet in it.
And, of course, it was so nice to see the show in the “original Geordie” language!
So, let me go through the show scene by scene.
Act I
Into The Ground:
Interesting, in that in stead of a single singer starting it as in New York, there are several singers in London. The corresponding film on the scrim sort of reflects this. When he starts singing in New York, there is a single miner in the film; in London there is a group of miners. This is, by the way, where I should begin my rant about the stupid changes made in New York. “We’re out!” makes sense; there is no need to explain it further. The rest of the scene is pretty much the same as in New York.
The Breakfast Scene:
A lot more fun in London. I love the bread toss by the miners with the placards. And so many little things that go on. Although I do like seeing Big Davey actually eat the whole sandwich in New York. In London he just takes one bite and nods his head. Not too much else different.
In one show, Rhys (I think) smacked and broke the plate that Grandma’s pasty was on after dumping it into the trash. Didn’t faze him at all. He just kicked the broken china pieces under the counter and went on with the scene.
The Boxing Scene:
Gad, so much better in London. The lines are delivered more clearly and loudly, which is true of the whole show I think. I like that Michael actually looks like he hits George in the balls most of the time in London; in New York, it is too low to be even remotely convincing. Also, for the most part, these kids are much more convincing when Michael hits Billy. Jake, I think it was, really clobbers Billy. The fellow who plays George in London is very funny, and makes the whole scene richer and more fun. And I like how Billy actually repeats the lines “…and the fine tradition…” loudly and clearly, which you almost never see in the US. I am told that they do it, but all I have memory of is seeing them mouth it without saying the words.
Shine:
Joanna Riding is a wonderful Mrs. W. I really like her. The scene over all does not go much different than in New York. Except for one thing. In New York, when George throws the keys over the wall, I saw Billy after Billy say “Who?” much too fast. Like as soon as the keys landed. Every Billy in London paused the appropriate amount of time before saying it. Stupid little things like that can really make a difference!
Grandma’s Song:
I have grown to love this piece. And no one does it like Ann, though I must say I also saw Romy Baskerville twice and loved her Nana as well. But for me, what really made this enormous fun is once again a little thing. I have seen shows on Broadway where the Billy just sits there like a lump while Grandma dances and sings. No reaction to anything she says. The Billys in London are part of the scene, reacting just the way a 12 year old would if he saw his Grandma do that, sometimes even laughing out loud as though it was the first time they had seen it. So natural and refreshing. And even the ending is so cute. Maybe I missed this stuff in New York.
A quick comment about Ann vs. Romy as Grandma. Ann is amazing, I will say, but I think that Romy delivers her lines better. They are clearer and the timing is better. Perhaps Ann has played the role so long that she has lost some of the sharpness needed.
Pre-Solidarity:
Annoyance with bad direction again. Every Billy, every time, has said, “My Mam’s dead” too quickly after Debbie says, “…slagged off your mom.” Someone fix this!!!
Solidarity:
What can I say that I have not already said? This is one of the finest pieces of musical theatre ever staged. A song covering a 4 week period that so well tells the story if what is going on both inside the miner’s hall and outside. But there are some things I will point out that I had not seen in New York or in London before for that matter. When Mrs. W. is telling the girls how to do pirouettes, Debbie is just staring at Billy with big loving eyes. Later, when Billy does his pirouettes, he is smiling thinking he did so well, and then his smile fades when Mrs. W. tells them they were all awful. And I love that the girls all laugh at him when Mrs. W. tells him he is the worst of the lot.
One other little acting touch that I have not seen in New York. When Dad and Billy have the exchange about where Billy has been on Saturday mornings and then Billy says “Tony is waiting…”, as Billy gets off the chair and moves it he is grinning as though he has just gotten away with something. Dunno if they did that in London when I saw it before, but it is a nice, subtle touch.
Mrs. W. and Billy toilet scene:
One thing I like about Joanna that I have never seen any other Mrs. W. do (which doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done, but I have not noticed it). As Mr. B and everyone else is leaving the room, the toilet flushes. Joanna reacts to that, and you can see her thinking that if everyone else is gone, and the toilet is flushing, the only person who could be in there is Billy. It just makes it flow that much better.
I am annoyed that a couple of the Billys do the “You don’t fancy me…” line a bit too quickly, but that doesn’t really matter.
And when Joanna is telling Billy to bring things that tell her something about him and she pulls his nose, it just makes her seem more real somehow. Dunno how to explain it.
Expressing Yourself:
Well, I like the first half of this better in London than in New York. I like the “Lipstick, mascara…” lines, and I even like the joke telling, though most of the time it is in audible.
I do like the glitziness of the dancing dress scene better in New York, probably the only part of the New York show I do like better. But another case where the London cast comes through. Every show I saw, I could hear the “you should see what my underpants can do” line loud and clear. Not so on Broadway.
The only unfortunate thing is that there are a couple of times when one boy or other is pausing for effect and it looks like they have forgotten a line.
And they rush through the lines about will we get into trouble, etc. Sometimes it gets lost.
BTW, I claim that in New York, Michael does not say “I think you would look cush in a tutu”. Others say I am wrong. Anyway, it is a nice line!
The Crow Bar Scene:
Nowt much different here. This is one of the few places where I think it was smart to change Candlewyck Green to Disneyland for the US show. And for some reason Joe Caffrey and David Bardsley both do a more convincing job of hitting Tony.
The Letter:
This scene just amazed me, and I saw so much new every time. The exchange between Billy and Mrs. W. with the letter going back and forth is always fun. Each Billy has such a different take on the line “It’s a letter”. Some of them do it like Kiril did, making it sound as though Mrs. W. is an idiot for not knowing it is a letter. Others are just defiant. All of them quite good.
I have commented already that Tom wins the prize for best crying in this scene, but all of the UK boys are wonderful.
Now, one thing that I saw in these shows that I had never seen before. At the time when Dead Mum comes in and Billy starts looking at her, Mrs. W. looks around, trying to figure out what Billy is looking at. Has it always been there? Did Joanna just do a better job of relating that to the audience? I dunno, but it was interesting.
Born To Boogie:
I have this image that one day the production company was sitting around saying to each other, “Hey! Let’s change B2B and add something in it for the Broadway show which only works about 40% of the time! Hey! Let’s add a jump rope tap dance thing!”
So glad they did not f*** up the London show with that tripe! B2B is just great fun without adding that failure. All of the shows that I saw, the interaction between Billy and Mr. B was great. From when they were making obscene gestures to each other in the beginning, to when they were having fun together at the end. Again, it might be therein the US show, but not as well related to the audience.
Every Billy managed the piano jump except one, who couldn’t get his shoes on in time.
Toilet Scene:
Another scene which did not need any changing between New York and London except for the woo-woo line. I agree that Yanks might not have gotten the full meaning of fanny, so woo-hoo or woo-woo was a justifiable change. But the rest of the scene should have stayed the same. Even the term “wife” should have remained, because in context it is understandable.
I do wish some of the boys would exaggerate their reactions a bit more when Debbie offers to show her fanny to him. More movement of the eyes and head so that the audience can see that he has not just forgotten a line. Tom, as the veteran, is great here, though.
Angry Dance:
The scene leading up to this is not much different than in New York. I have always felt that the “I don’t want to have a childhood…” line is rushed a bit, but I am glad to report that there is a proper pause before dad shouts out “Yer mam’s dead”.
Again, I like the London version of this better than the New York version. It is about Billy, which is what it should be. And as I said earlier, Ollie was absolutely amazing, very powerful. Truly angry!
Act II
Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher:
I could go either way on this. Except I like the interaction with the audience at the beginning. Yeah, I like the London version better.
One show Billy came out with out the bucket. So they could not do the drawing. And when Tony said “Can you hear it in the distance?” Santa said, “Is it the bucket?”
Anyway, this is fun no matter how you see it, and although they do not have a nerf ball shooting tank, it is a great way to get the audience ready for act II.
Deep Into The Ground:
I have a gripe about this, as usual. Joe Caffrey does not wait long enough between each of his lines to let the rest of the cast settle down. So he says, “I’m not gonna do big spender.” And the cast groans and moans. But he comes up with his next line about the folk song too soon, so part of it gets lost. And then the crowd moans and groans again, so that you miss his “It was one of my Sarah’s favorites”. And once in a while you miss the next line when he mumbles, “It’s been three years last week.”
Which, by the way, is a revelation. This line has been added since I was in London last, and I am sure it was not used in New York when I saw it. So we now know that Billy’s mom died when he was 9 or 10 the week before Christmas.
(Okay, digression time. Why do I say 9 OR 10? Well, 2 months into the show we know Billy is 12. Because Mrs. W. has been teaching him for 2 months and Tony says he is 12. But there is never any mention of his age after that, so there is a 50/50 chance that in the 6 months since the end of ACT I Billy has had a birthday and could now be either 12 or 13. Yeah, truly trivial.)
The Winter Scene:
Yeah, yeah, we all know what I hate about this scene. “What’s so good about that why I’d miss ya!” all blurred into one non-sensical line that most of the audience does not understand! How do directors miss this???
Connor is just hysterical with the nutcracker lines, and he got a huge round of applause when he left the last time I saw him.
Rhys has one problem in that when Michael takes his left hand, Rhys puts his right hand on Michael’s chest before Michael grabs the hand.
Swan Lake (Dream Ballet):
Awesome, great, nicely down by all. I have seen 26 shows and have not seen a chair drop yet. This review is getting too long so I will move on.
Mrs. W’s House:
I like the way they both play this. Joe Caffrey does a great job with this scene, not too over-the-top. Very straight forward and sober.
He Could Be A Star:
Another why did they mess it up scene. This is so much better than the New York version, that unbelievable piece of crap where Dad scabs for a day and then is accepted back into the fold? Yeah, right!
And there was no reason to remove the “He could be a star” lines. Honest, Daldry, us dumb yanks would have gotten it.
Craig really shines as Tony, here. At first I thought he was too weepy, but I really think he does a great job, and he has a wonderful singing voice. I am always moved by this scene, and especially when Tony talks about keeping a community and the family together.
The Audition:
Yeah, again, WTF? It is perfect the way it is. Why change it for the US? Dumb! And this also allows Billy to slam Tall Boy’s head against the safety curtain, which is more convincing than the poorly done stage punch they do in New York. So sad that the producers thought they had to change it. It is funnier in London, too!
Electricity:
Great jobs by all, although the first show Tom slipped coming out of his opening tumbling run. And I do enjoy the wall flips at the ending of the “street” version. Rumor has it that one Tom and Ollie leave there will no longer be any “street” Billys. What a shame.
The Meal in the Hall Scene:
I would not normally even comment on this scene. To be honest, I have not paid much attention to it. But there is a part of it worth noting. Dale or Bobz pointed this out to me and I saw it the last few shows. When Leslie comes up to Billy and asks how he did, Michael is across form them making “kissy faces”. Connor was especially good at this. Which is why Leslie smacks him on the head as she is leaving.
Post:
This is one are where I definitely liked David Bradsley’s dad better than Joe’s. Only because, when Billy reads “Billy Elliot is queer”, David pauses long enough to wonder what the heck Billy is reading before saying “Esquire”. Joe is too fast.
Also, another moving scene, when Tony has his monologue about what the future holds. I am surprised that many times a few audience members chuckle when Tony says “They can’t all be fucking dancers.” For me that is such a sad parting line.
Goodbye To Mrs. W.:
Something interesting in this that I never heard before. When Mrs. W. sends the girls to the toilet, they mutter to each other that they just went. And, in fact, one night Susan Parks says loudly and clearly, “But we just had a toilet break.” Very nice touches.
Overall there is nothing remarkable in this scene.
Once We Were Kings:
The interaction between Dad and Billy while they are packing the suitcase here seems to be so much better than in New York. Dale pointed out that Billy and Dad are actually talking to each other, which you do not really notice in New York.
David Bardsley, by the way, pulls the coin out from behind Billy’s ear.
For whatever reason, Joe Caffrey did not lift Billy up onto his shoulders. One can assume it is either because he is too short or maybe he has a bad back. David did put Billy up on his shoulders.
The Letter (reprise):
Nowt special here.
The End:
Conner is one of the few Michaels I have seen who seems to get the end right. When he says, “Yeah, see ya Billy” he really sounds sad. Most Michaels sound like they are gonna see Billy next day or next week.
Jake, unfortunately, looks up at the curtain after he says this line, wondering when he can roll the bike off stage. That was annoying.
Overall Impressions:
London is a better show! There is no doubt about it. If I had never seen it anywhere else, I would love the Broadway production. But once you have seen it in London, you can never appreciate the New York show as well. Okay this has gone long enough, so I am done!
Some notes about production values:
There were more than a few missed mic cues during my 8 shows. And a few sound issues in general. And various lighting or blocking mistakes.
And there were some prop issues. The missing bucket was one, but for some reason Michael could not put on his headband in Express, which detracts from “People will think you’re mental.” And the next show the lipstick was missing, which made Billy’s “Oh nooo” seem a bit odd.
Not good prop handling!
