Venue: Victoria Palace Theatre, London, UK
Date: Saturday 5th March at 14:30
Cast: Josh Baker (Billy), Genevieve Lemon (Mrs. Wilkinson), Martin Marquez (Dad), Diane Langton (Grandma), Tom Lorcan (Tony), Connor Kelly (Michael), Francesca Mango (Debbie), Kay Milbourn (Dead Mum)
Rating: *****
Review: This week I've been to Leeds Grand Theatre for a ballet performance of Cleopatra which made me think twice about going to ballets. Ironically, in the same week, I was seeing a musical about BALLET!! Billy Elliot, based on 2000 film of the same name about a boy who wants to be a ballet dancer, has been playing in London since 2005 and I'm really happy that I finally get to see it. It was such an enjoyable and memorable afternoon for me. Though the show has its ups and downs, overall, it was a very good production, no doubt it has won Best New Musical from both Olivier Award and Tony Award.
As I am Thai, my main issue with the show is the Newcastle accent and some of the detailed story behind it, especially the ones that have to do with the strike. I didn't get some of the jokes either. But with the way the show is set up, you could still follow the main storyline quite easily. I particularly like the stage design for this show, how it is very simple but effective. Billy's bedroom, however, reminds me of the Pride Rock in The Lion King.
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| Billy exploded his anger into 'Angry Dance' at the End of Act One |
Many of the dance scenes were really good, notably the Angry Dance at the end of Act One and the Dream Ballet where Billy danced the Swan Lake with his older self. Having seen the show on Tony Awards and bootleg videos *ahem* , I also noticed quite some different between the Broadway and West End versions of the show.
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| Billy and his older self in a Dream Ballet of Swan Lake |
The music by Elton John was a mixed bag here. There were some really strong and beautiful songs like 'Solidarity', 'Once We Were Kings' and 'He Could Be a Star'. 'The Letter Song' had me (and many of the audience members around me) totally in tears. It was very moving and had me thinking about my mom a lot. Then, there were numbers that I couldn't care less like 'Shine', 'Grandma Song' and 'Born to Boogie'. I didn't like them when I listened to them on the cast recording, seeing them visually didn't seem to help much.
Our cast was very strong. Genevieve Lemon and Martin Marquez were our Mrs. Wilkinson and Dad respectively and they were both amazing in their roles. I really like how Dad just broke into tears when he sang 'He Could Be a Star' in the second act and his reaction at the Royal Ballet was hilarious.
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| Solidarity (with David Alvarez as Billy) |
Our Billy was Josh Baker and he just started a week ago. He wasn't even published in our programme yet, they need to insert an extra paper showing his bio. But he was excellent in the role, especially for someone who has just started. His singing and acting was quite good but his dancing, though very good already, could have been stronger especially in Billy's big number "Electricity'. It was excellent but it still lacked that certain spark that would make the audience jumped to their feet. But maybe I just had too much exposition of the number from seeing the other Billys before on televisions (e.g. Liam Mower, David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, etc.) so I had such a high expectation of the boy. But I'm sure that with his talent, he is certain to have a good long career ahead of him.
The show ends with a finale dance number with all cast members in tutus. That, frankly, is the only part where I wasn't sure that I liked. I know that they were just trying to be funny but it feels like it was making fun of ballets while the whole musical was actually focusing on "not making fun" of someone's dreams and ambitions. But that's just my thought on the finale. I gave them a standing ovation at the end anyhow. :)
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| Finale with the Tutus... I don't think so... |
Overall, it was a great afternoon for me and I can now understand all the hype behind it. I'm not sure if it can beat my all-time favourites like Les Miz or Jersey Boys but I would recommend this show to anyone who loves musicals and good talents. Beware! The show contains really strong language so you might wanna think twice before taking your kids.
Post Note: there were a part in the show where Billy, at his audition for the Royal Ballet, pulled out his "cassette tape" containing the songs for his audition. And the first thing that I heard behind me was a little girl asking her mom... "What is that?"... Gosh, are we really that old?
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