Billy elliot dancer
What: “Billy Elliot,” with music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall.
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In general, the acting is more compelling than the singing, although music director Stephen Field's band sounds good and the men elicit goosebumps when singing in full throat during "Once We Were Kings" and elsewhere.įlaws aside, it's a well-told, timeless story that will remain relevant as long as people have to overcome roadblocks to achieve their dreams. Kendra Goehring-Garret brings her angelic, emotion-conjuring voice to the role of Billy's Dead Mum, who appears to her son in dream-like sequences. Rodriguez provides good-natured comic relief as Billy's hard-nosed boxing coach.ĭebra Gillingham is delightful as Billy's grandmother, and her rendition of the nostalgic, slightly bitter "Grandma's Song," in which we get get a clue as to where Billy's dancing talent came from, is a highlight. Grady is a wonderful dancer and singer with great stage presence, and "Expressing Yourself," the duet he shares with Redford's Billy, is a show-stopper.Īs Billy's overwhelmed father, Jamey Stone gives form and an arc to his harried anger but essentially loving nature, while Beau Mumford as Billy's scab-hating brother captures a scary, intractable rage and J.R. The young NoahAyden Grady is a revelation as Michael, Billy's young friend with a penchant for cross dressing. (Her "class" of young dancers are pretty great as well.) Wilkinson, the first to see greatness in him. Nancy Allen, a Nashville actress with a strong voice (her big number, "Shine," is excellent), is nearly perfect as Billy's chain-smoking, tough-loving dance instructor Mrs. In any case, the performances generally lift the show. (One notable exception is Gideon Chickos as the future, ballet-dancing Billy.) Still, under the direction of Cathy Street, one often wishes the production was a little more polished and consistent, particularly in terms of Brooklyne Williamson-Moore's choreography, which is often well-conceived - impressive is the lengthy "Solidarity" sequence, in which the cops are juxtaposed against and blended with the striking miners, as well as the children impacted by the chaos - but less-well-executed by a largely male ensemble for some of whom dancing isn't always a strong suit. "Billy Elliot" isn't a particularly flashy musical, so the rough-hewn aspects of this production work for it as often as against it.
What he captures perfectly, however, is how Billy is just a regular kid, albeit one with outsized talent. As one might expect, he's a very talented young singer, dancer and actor. Redford plays the role of Billy effortlessly, perhaps a little too effortlessly at times, but he sings beautifully and his performance regularly meets the emotional demands of the role. The title role is played by a ringer, Liam Redford, who's done the part before and who Opera House brought in from out of town. This despite the wishes of his widowed father, a striking coal miner who'd prefer his son to undertake a more "masculine" activity, like boxing.
Set in the midst of the economic turmoil of strike-torn 1980s England (the accents, for the most part, are pretty good), the story chronicles the journey of a boy, Billy Elliot, who's drawn to the ballet. Opera House's production of "Billy Elliot" is uneven, but it still contains moments of both power and deep emotion.
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Based on the Oscar-nominated 2000 movie of the same title, it was a hit on Broadway and in London and features music by Sir Elton John. is staging the show in Wilmington for the first time at Thalian Hall through Aug. The yin and yang of these two stories lie at the heart of "Billy Elliot," swirling around like so many of the musical's pirouettes. A town's slow, demoralizing death and a boy's tentative, uplifting artistic birth.