After a sweltering afternoon at the Blues Festival followed by a refreshing dinner at Tavern at the Park, mom, Gerald and I strolled down to the Oriental for a visit with Billy Elliot. I saw the show three months ago on press night, and was amazed — both by the performance and the media spectacle (my thoughts here).
How would the show hold up without Oprah and Elton John leading mid-show standing ovations?
Quite well, I must say.
Out of the four possibilities for the role of Billy, we got Ceaser Corrales again. And, again, he was AMAZING. Though, I would have enjoyed seeing another young actor’s take on this demanding role.
One thing I noticed is that the actors’ Newcastle accents have gotten thicker — particularly Emily Skinner‘s, who plays Billy’s down-on-her-luck ballet teacher. She’s still sassy, touching and fun, but I had a very hard time deciphering what she was saying, which I don’t recall ever being a problem in April.
I was also reminded how wonderfully structured the “Solidarity” segment is — where Billy’s ballet class intermingles with the ongoing coal miners’ strike. It’s a brilliant piece of staging.
Lastly, I noticed there are two too many jokes about men doing splits and straining their groins. Groin jokes are always groan-worthy in my book.
The nearly sold-out audience gave Corrales a much-deserved standing O. Even if you don’t care for the show, this is a performance that DEMANDS getting out of your seat.
[…] So, it was back to Billy Elliot last night (my third visit — opening night, a night I took my mom to see the show, and a special “blogger bash” performance last night). J.P. Viernes as Billy […]