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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Dancing the night away...


I saw "Billy Elliot" way back when it was released on--ahem--tape. It actually seems much longer, but it came out a bit over ten years ago. It has multi-layered meanings for me, and I watched it probably three times a day for a week. I originally got it because it was about dancing, and if only for that, it is amazing. Anyways, we went to see "Billy Elliot, The Musical" last night. It came here for its debut tour stop. I knew it was going to be good--it won the Tony for best musical--and it was "Billy Elliot," for crying out loud--but I really didn't have high expectations. I didn't think it could come close to touching me on an emotional level the way the movie did. And I was right. The production was fantastic, no doubt. The dancing was incredible. There were five different boys playing the part of Billy due to the rigors of the roll. The kid we saw could not have been better, but Jamie Bell holds a piece of my heart. I was a little surprised by how close the musical stayed true to the language of the movie. Down yere in tha sowth we dowt git much cussin in orwn shozs. Ah, wake up, y'all! I argued all the way home about how integral it was to the show. It was about miners in Ireland during a strike. Miners. Ireland. Duh. I drank a Guinness during the first half of the show in support of those miners.


So, I give it a thumbs up and highly recommend seeing it if it comes your way. Be ready to laugh. The scenes between Billy and Michael are hysterical. Be ready to be amazed by the dancing. But don't worry about bringing a Kleenex or three.


4 comments:

  1. Actually, it's about miners in County Durham, England.;) And if your friends thought the cussin' was a bit much, tell them to look at the REAL lyrics for "Solidarity" in the souvenir program (that is, if they bought one). The company has toned down the language from the London and Broadway shows for people like your friends. I am a fan of the movie too. I have loved it for years, but when the musical came out, it stole my heart away, and I like it even better.

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  2. Glad you enjoyed Billy Elliot the Musical. It really is a wonderful show and you are right when you say the dancing is fantastic. It's a good job the people that thought the language was bad didn't see the New York version where there is more swearing and there is even more in London.

    I hope you enjoyed your Guinness but I hate to disappoint you as Billy Elliot is based in the North East of England - not Ireland.

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  3. The miners were from the northeast of England, not Ireland.

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  4. Geez, how stupid am I? No, don't answer that. Thanks for correcting my error on that bit of history/geography. Hopefully I didn't offend anyone??

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