Billy Elliot - what to say? This is probably one of my favorite shows of all time. I absolutely love the movie that it was based on, I love Elton John - I was dying to see it. The day I was going to see it, I wasn't planning on it. I had woken up early and hiked my butt uptown to see if I could get lucky at the Wicked lottery and when I loss, I ran blocks to see if there were any student rush tickets left for Billy. Thankfully, there were.
I was nervous waiting for it to begin, because I wasn't sure what to expect, since the movie is so something that didn't seem like it would translate well on stage. Boy, was I wrong. I actually ended up seeing this show twice, with two different Billys and Michaels.
This show was absolutely outstanding. I understand why it swept the Tony Awards in 2009. The music was amazing and I loved how strong and solid they sounded. They are mostly men, and it sounded amazing. My favorite song was "Solidarity," because I loved the way that the deep men's voices combined with the delicate little girl voices, combining the vulgarity of the strike and the innocence of the children.
My favorite number visually is "Grandma's Song." It was really nice to see her, on the stage, telling her story and the men's ensemble smoking and working with chairs. It really gave it a haunting vibe, like the audience was truly traveling into this woman's memories and it was very effective and it was really beautiful to watch. The staging and the choreography of this number were really outstanding and it definitely stood out and lingered with me.
The cast was really great and the relationship between Billy and his father, Jackie was great, as was the relationship between Mrs. Wilkinson and both Billy and Jackie. You could see the strain on Billy's relationship with his father that dancing in secret created, and you could also see how conflicted Jackie was and how much he cared about Billy. It was also clear how much of a mother figure Mrs. Wilkinson became to Billy - which, speaking of, I really enjoyed how they managed to incorporate his deceased mother through a letter and fond memories.
The only thing that I wish was different was Michael's relationship with Billy. It was a little too comical, which I enjoyed ("Expressing Yourself" was SO much fun and resulted in an epic applause) - in the film, I really enjoyed how uncertain and a little concerned Michael was about his homosexuality and that Billy loved his friend anyway.
The set is really cool! It was very simple for the most part, with three walls to make it either look like the gym where the dancing and boxing took place or the apartments where Billy and his family lived. The best part was the way that his house rose from the floor with his bedroom on top and the kitchen in the bottom. It was really cool and added an ew dimension, which was nice to see.
The dancing was great, as well (as could be expected) and I loved watching this young kid dance so phenomenally, especially when Billy danced with his older dream-self. It was great!
This show is really outstanding. It makes you feel so much and you laugh and you cry and it's just really phenomenal. It's sad that it closed, though it had a long, happy life on Broadway (although, it could've been longer). It is on tour, so I definitely recommend trying to go see it if it comes near you. It definitely made a "Billyver" out of me.
I give Billy Elliot an A. This show closed January 8, 2012 after 1,304 regular performances.
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