December 2, 2008

Broadway Review: Gotta dance with 'Billy Elliot'

NewYorkology contributor Alexandra Farkas had the chance to see “Billy Elliot” shortly after its November 13 opening night at the Imperial Theater. Farkas, who earlier this year directed the New York premiere of John Fleming’s “The Two Lives of Napoleon Beazley” at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, is back as NewYorkology’s theater critic after a hiatus to give birth to a beautiful baby girl.

It’s almost impossible to walk out of “Billy Elliot” and not feel like anything’s possible. If Billy Elliot can make it out of the striking coal fields of Northern England to dance at the Royal Ballet School, I should just put my head down and work a little harder to [insert your unrealized dream here].

Not that there’s much suspense in the storyline of this adaptation of Stephen Daldry’s 2000 acclaimed movie, but getting there is a magical trip full of gorgeous dancing and some great songs that have you rooting for the characters with all your heart.

Kiril Kulish, who played Billy the night I saw the show, is a wonderful dancer and has a sweet voice that carries the show ably. He alternates with David Alvarez and Trent Kowalik, each of whom has received their fair share of stellar notices.

However, critics have not made enough of Haydn Gwynne’s Mrs. Wilkinson, the ballet teacher who helps Billy unveil his talent and acts as a hard-edged surrogate mother in the face of his father and brother’s ignorance. Gwynne, who created the role in the London production that’s been running since 2006, brings pathos and humor to an archetypical character in the “realizing dreams against all odds” storybook. She’s neither too treacly nor too harsh and while discovering Billy seems to reignite a part of her that was long dead, she also enjoys harassing the motley crew of little girls who take her class every week.

Frank Dolce, as Billy’s cross-dressing best friend Michael, is also great. His numbers with Kulish are fun, escapist fantasies that do a great job of showing how hard living in a small-minded, dead end town can be for sensitive, creative kids.

Elton John’s score is far subtler and more textured than his recent Disney stuff, but that may well be because, according to an article in the Playbill, he hunted the producers down to make this musical.

Peter Darling, who choreographed the original movie, brings his prodigious talents to the dancing here, too, and hopefully he’ll become a Broadway regular. The numbers were fresh and exciting – whether it was the opposing worlds of ballet class and striking miners, Billy and Michael raiding Michael’s mother’s closet or Billy’s granny remembering her loveless marriage.

My companion noted that the musical robs Billy of the anger streak that gave him the determination to become a dancer in the movie. The whole dance thing just sort of seems to happen to him on stage. I’m sure there are other complexities that are glossed over in this production – it tends to go for the strong image, rather than the layered nuance, but that’s hardly the gravest crime being committed on Broadway this season.

If you can get a ticket to this show, go. It is worth noting, however, that at almost three hours, it’s not a show for small children, even if they do want to pirouette all day every day.

Regular tickets are priced from $41.50 to $136.50 with premium seats for $301.50 and $351.50. “Billy Elliot” plays the Imperial Theatre, 249 W. 49th St., map.

Earlier: ‘Billy Elliot’ on Broadway wows most all of the critics

December 2, 2008 7:11 PM in Broadway, Kids

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