Wed. April 14, 2010
By John Olson
When a big Broadway musical comes to town, the ticket-buying public's first question may be "will the production be as big and as good as the original?" And even if it is, will it be a carbon-copy of a frozen show mostly assembled by an assistant director? The answers to all of the above questions for the Chicago production of Billy Elliot: The Musical are "no." This show is arguably better than the Broadway version. The reports that the entire creative team of director Stephen Daldry, composer Elton John and bookwriter/lyricist Lee Hall have been in Chicago since January preparing the piece are borne out by the show on stage. There's now a greater connection to the characters and to the emotional truth of the historical events in which the story is set than there was in the show I saw on Broadway last June.
Reimagining as a musical the film Hall wrote and Daldry directed was a tricky proposition. The film's story of a young boy in Northern England discovering a love of dance and finding a way to make a life for himself quite different from that of the coal miners who'd populated his town for generations was told on screen in a gritty and uncompromising manner. In showing the hard lives of the miners, as they are facing even greater uncertainty in the midst of the 1984 British Miner's Strike, it made the audience confront some depressing stuff before rewarding them with a well-earned feel-good resolution.
Emily Skinner, the top-billed Broadway veteran of the cast, is a tough and gritty Mrs. Wilkinson. Though I'd question some of her choices in "Shine" (in which she seems too much the diva, playing to the audience instead of barking instructions to her students), she's mostly a tough cookie with a realistic view of the world that doesn't take guff from anyone. She handles her vocal and dance numbers with a skill that will surprise no one who's followed her career in Broadway musicals.
Chicago has four boys alternating as Billy. The opening night honors went to Cesar Corrales, a Canadian dancer with no acting credits listed in his Playbill bio, who is nonetheless a knockout in every department. His Billy is a spunky kid with tons of energy. He shows us from the first scenes how Billy—whether hopscotching down the sidewalk or breaking into dance while sparring with his boxing teacher—has the gift of movement within him. He's smart and strong and Corrales plays him with a confidence and precision that belie his 13 years. His dancing skills are stunning and he acts through song most convincingly—his performance of "Electricity" has a defiant tone that brings the show to an emotional peak. Alternating in the role are Tommy Batchelor (Broadway's first understudy who later joined the regular rotation), Giuseppe Bausilio (a 12-year-old from Switzerland), and J.P Viernes.
Keean Johnson, Broadway's first understudy for Michael who was later promoted to alternate, did the honors as Michael for the press performance in suitably showy form. He alternates with Gabriel Rush. Cynthia Darlow is a crusty old Grandma who delivers "We'll Go Dancing," the song about her disappointing marriage to her late husband, with regret but no self-pity. Susie McMonagle is the sweet and clear-voiced Mum, singing to Billy through his memories.
Daldry and choreographer Peter Darling have visualized the piece in some stunning ways. The confrontation between the police and the miners in "Solidarity," played against the activity in the dance class, is a brilliant juxtaposition of the ugliness and the beauty existing side by side in the town. Darling's dances have a range that covers tap, ballet, and also creates a vocabulary that depicts the violent confrontations between strikers and police.
Already a hit for the past five years in its London and New York incarnations, the creators might have easily chosen not to tinker with something that, from a commercial standpoint, was not broken. Their willingness to continue refining Billy Elliot: The Musical may just increase its critical and artistic stature as the years pass.
Billy Elliot: The Musical is in an open-ended run at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph, Chicago. Tickets are on sale through October 24, 2010, through Broadway in Chicago box offices, by phone at (800) 775-2000 and online at www.BroadwayinChicago.com. Twelve rush tickets ($25.00) go on sale the day of each performance (11 a.m. on Sundays) at the Ford Center/Oriental Theatre box office. As many as 38 additional seats, subject to availability at select performances, may be made available. Rush ticket limit is two tickets per patron and all seats are limited view.
Cesar Corrales, Emily Skinner and Company
Photo by: Joan Marcus
For the complete article (non-reader view with multimedia and original links),
Tap here.
Head to the local LGBTQ news, events, directory and people network at ChicagoPride.com