Billy Elliot the musical

[burntcopper]

Billy Elliot?

Brilliant. No. Really. Brilliant. If you liked the film? The musical is *better*. If you haven't seen the film? Go anyway. The staging. The dancing. The singing. The acting. The dialogue. The choreography. All. Fucking. Brilliant. (and lots of swearing. :g:)



The *entire cast* is amazing. (looking at the soundtrack from 2006, it appears several of the cast, especially the ensemble, are still the originals) Special mention to Nana who's really funny, and Michael who had the audience in hysterics, and Mr. Braithwaite, whose role is seriously expanded and does some of the best comedy dancing *not* done by the Trocks, and then there's the one-liners given to George the boxing coach. mwhahahaha. Plus, we must just hug the little kid who wanders in and out of the entire thing.

But seriously, the choreography? There's this bit in the 'Solidarity' song where you've got the ballet girls trapped between the fighting miners and coppers, then dancing in and out of them. Kinda jaw-dropping. Oh, and any time Billy's onstage.

The miners' strike and issues are more omnipresent than in the film (film had it as background, musical has it as a major theme), and the expansion of some characters means it's funnier and more haunting. The bit with his mum's letter had the audience in floods of tears.

My *only* pout is that when we see the adult Billy (set to the Swan Lake music) he's not in the Matthew Bourne version outfit. Pout pout pout, says the Matthew Bourne addict. But yeah. One. Single. Peeve. (that whole dance sequence is entrancing, though)

Admittedly some of the references and songs, eg, 'Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher' will probably go straight over people's heads if you're not familiar with the period - andromakie, was it you who said this? And yeah, they did make a joke about the americans in the audience not getting one bit, so who knows how much they get it on Broadway. If you are familiar, the references fuel your emotions something chronic.

BTW : Elton John, what the hell have you been wasting your life on before this?

Mum of course found it rather amusing that I couldn't get rid of the Geordie accent during the interval.

Oh, and it is bloody weird to hear a musical sung in a Geordie accent. You're used to hearing generic American or Deep South or Cockney, but Geordie's a new one. Not to mention it's often the case that dialogue's done in accent but the songs are sung in normal voice (which is often nothing like their natural accent due to diction training). Next stop, Brummie. Anyone for the life of Shakespeare? :g:

Now I want to see them do it for touring and put it up in Newcastle. Admittedly you'd have to modify a bunch of the scenery stuff, but some of the throwaway jokes are infinitely funnier if you were brought up with Geordie relatives, so god knows how much funnier they are if you're actually Geordie. (plus of course the general period/emotional ties)

Comments

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

I have no desire to see this musical, despite enjoying the film. The simple reason being:

Film = T-Rex = good
Musical = Elton John = BAD.

[andromakie.livejournal.com]

now, normally I would agree with you, but he did a good job with Aida. So I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

that's just it. the music is *nothing* like anything I've heard from him before (and yes, I'm quite willing to put up the soundtrack to prove it) - everything from hymn-type stuff to full-on tap routine to the most catchy picket line confrontation tune *ever*. The only thing that could even go vaguely towards what you might be able to id as Elton John is 'Electricity', which they've had one of the Billies perform on ADWD, and the Olivers performed a few weeks back.

Hence my comment of 'what have you been wasting your life on when you could write like *this*?'

[andromakie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, from the songs I've heard, I'm curious as to what will happen on B'way, when the audience are mostly not aware of the economic situation and the general attitudes that prevail in that part of Britain. I've not seen it yet, probably will get around to it when it hits NY, or next time I'm in London. But I don't see it being such a long running success on this side of the ocean. I should find out when its opening. Must be soon, they've had the 3 boys they cast doing stuff this month.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

I'm seriously scratching my head. I think it'll go over really well in Australia, but New York, where they have no history of heavy industry and little experience of reliance on such for the whole community? I can see it going over really well in the mid-west - Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, though I have no idea how much they're going to have to modify it. The geordie accents aren't that strong in the play, but'll probably be nigh-on incomprehensible to an American audience. And most of the Americans in the audience did spend a lot of time looking confused whenever any mention/reliance on knowledge of the situation came up. I don't even know if a lot of the humour will work.

Ah, yay, the problem of 'some stuff works on Broadway and some stuff works in the West End'.

Where was it they toured the Full Monty adaptation? I don;t remember it being on Broadway.

[andromakie.livejournal.com]

well, Manhattan has a history of sweatshop factories, but I don't think it's the same thing. There'll be people who go, but I don't see it as the breakout hit of the season. I can't remember if Full Monty was on Broadway, probably not for very long if it was. Sometimes they pick their shows. Little House on the Prarie is trying out in the midwest *g*.