Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
Jacob
Neil
Liz Pearce as Mrs. W.

Wow! Broken record – another GREAT show!
I am so gratified that the dialog has not been “f***”-ed with in New York. I am also so happy that someone has decided that acting is as important as dancing.
This was one of the best acted shows I have seen in New York. I hesitate to go into too much detail as it will begin to sound repetitive, but I shall anyway.
First, I thought Jacob Clemente is absolutely wonderful. His facial expressions were clear and appropriate. He was not just saying lines, he was delivering them; he WAS Billy. And his crying during The Letter was so real – which it may have been – that he was still wiping his eyes while Mrs. W. was saying her “…Sunderland College” line. Wow!
But before that, when he was pulling his “special things” out of his bag, the way he did it and showed them to her was just so perfect. Like, he scoffed at her for dissing his Star Trek Annual, but then the way he brought out the baked beans can was done as though he knew he did not want to show it to her. It is so hard to describe how perfect that scene was, but for me it explains why so many of us go back over and over again: just to find those perfect scenes.
Anyway, his singing was greatm ad so was his dancing of course, but…..drumroll…Uncle Dave finally saw a chair fall! That’s right! I went my first 27 shows without ever seeing the chair drop in Swan Lake. This afternoon it dropped 4 or 5 times!!! I am thinking that either there was something on the floor, or it was the wrong chair, or Jacob was having a really bad time of it. And you know what…it didn’t matter a damn. He handled it like a pro, and the rest of the dance was flawless. Really professional.
Backing up, I have always hated the rope jumping in B2B, because it so often fails. Last night it did not. This afternoon, Jacob missed, and he was grinning through it and just got back into it. And I realized something…people screw up jumping rope when they are NOT tap dancing. So why should I expect perfection every time when they ARE tap dancing. It did not seem to affect the performance at all.
There was something weird in B2B. At the end, where most boys go and change their shoes, Jacob did not. In stead, he went to the piano and drank something – was it Mr. B’s beer? – and then did his ending pirouettes in his tap shoes. Never seen the drinking thing before.
Oh, also, when Billy goes back up to kiss Michael, Jacob does it very well. Just the right pause, then a quick kiss and a reaction as though he surprised even himself. Very nice.
Toilet scene with Debbie is another area I am always very critical of, and this one was done well. Jacob had great facial expressions while he thought about seeing her “hoo-hoo”.
One annoyance that does not fall onto Jacob. I have noticed that too many Billys, when Michael says, “Come here” in the Winter Scene, they put their hands up anticipating that Michael is going to grab them and put them on his chest. Alex Ko did it last night, and I have seen other do it. Jacob did NOT. He let Neil grab his hands and bring them up. Nice!
Oh, just a note about the Finale. Jacob really looked like he was enjoying the Finale and he was in charge. I always feel like the Finale is a chance to remind the audience that the show is called “Billy Elliot” for a reason, and I really love it when the Billy takes charge! I am also always stunned that he has that much energy to do that last dance.
On to Neil. WOW! What a Michael!! This kid was great! Acting was terrific, singing and dancing wonderful. Really good. One weird thing that happened, which actually made the scene better, was in the Winter scene.
After Billy says he wouldn’t be going away, Neil said, “Well that’s good, because I would miss ya.” Then Billy says, “What’s so good about it?” And Neil said with more emphasis, “Because I’d miss ya.” I am pretty sure it was a blown line, but it caused the pacing to be better and it was more understandable to the audience.
And Neil did a wonderful comedic turn with the “nutcracker” line. Overall, just a great performance.
Liz Pearce is a wonderful Mrs. W. Every one I have seen is a bit different, and she is no exception. I like when she kind of laughs when she pries Billy away in the toilet scene. I just really like her performance.
And Greg just seems to get better and better. I have been watching him a lot lately. I am enjoying that he seems to be a bit more drunk in MCMT and Deep Into The Ground. (In fact, it seems there are a few more drunk people in the scene. I do kinda miss seeing Tony and Billy sitting next to each other.) Anyway, I am really enjoying Greg’s performance as Dad even more than before.
After the show, at the stage door, I was once again struck by how tiny these boys are. So amazing that they carry this show every night!
I did not proof read this yet, so let it go!