The Net Dog Blog

Last night Blake and I went to the Victoria Palace Theatre to see Billy Elliot the Musical. The movie on which the show is based is one of my favorites. It starred cute little newcomer Jamie Bell in the title roll and the wonderful Julie Walters as Mrs. Wilkinson. The film was set in a mining town in Northern England during the miners' strikes in the 80s. Billy comes from a poor working-class family and his father wants him to learn to box. He inadvertently ends up attending a ballet class taught by Mrs. Wilkinson and realizes he has a natural dance talent. Long story short, his family is against Billy dancing so he practices in secret. Mrs. Wilkinson wants him to audition for ballet school in London but his father is against it ... until he sees him dance. I don't want to give away the ending but anyone who has ever seen a movie where the underdog has to overcome many obstacles to realize his dream knows the outcome.

The play is faithful to the movie except in this version the characters tend to break into song (and dance) at the drop of a hat. Now you know I typically don't like musicals but I've decided to limit my hatred to those written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rodgers and Hammerstein. Except for a couple so-so songs, the music by Elton John and Lee Hall is wonderful. My favorites are "We'd Go Dancing" sung by the grandmother about her abusive late husband, "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher", and "Expressing Yourself" which features boys in dresses and dancing evening gowns (what's not to love?).

The character of Billy is played by three different boys who alternate between shows. I haven't seen the other two but the Billy we got (George Maguire I think) was fantastic. The only problem I had with the cast was that the actors playing Billy's father and brother were too old. The father seemed as old as the grandmother and the brother looked to be in his 30s. However, they were both great in their respective parts so it was easy to overlook.

There is definitely not a lack of good shows here in London. I'd like to see STOMP again (I saw it three times back in Louisville) but Blake is really wanting to see Ducktastic. Make of that what you will.