Review: EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCES ABOUND IN BILLY ELLIOT AT SPINNING TREE THEATRE

From the opening song, the audience knows they are in for a special evening as Spinning Tree Theatre presents BILLY ELLIOT at the Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas City. This production directed by Michael Grayman-Parkhurst raises the bar for local theatrical performances. BILLY ELLIOT will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will forever be locked in your memory.

BILLY ELLIOT is based on the Universal Pictures/Studio Canal film with Book and Lyrics by Lee Hall and Music by Elton John. It is the story of an eleven-year-old boy who lives in a mining town, where the miners are on strike. Accidentally he discovers the world of ballet, much to his family's objection. When he is given the opportunity to audition for a national ballet school his brother and father forbid him from attending. Only after his father walks in on him performing does he see a natural talent that is BILLY ELLIOT. According to the Digital Journal, the musical is based on a real person, Philip Mosely. When screenwriter Lee Hall asked dancers of London's Royal Ballet at Covent Garden if there were any dancers from a mining town Mosely stepped forward.

Everything about this production is of the highest quality from the selection of the cast, the musical direction by Pamela Baskin-Watson, marvelous choreography by Andrew Grayman-Parkhurst, and the superb English accents from dialect coach Joseph Carr. Of course, it doesn't matter how good the behind the scenes is if you don't have the talent to back it up. Spinning Tree has backed it up by putting together a cast of some of the most talented actors in the Kansas City area.

Ben Renfrow is magnificent as the title character, BILLY ELLIOT. The 13-year old Renfrow has a wonderful singing voice and his dancing is mesmerizing. He performs as if he had been in the industry for 30 years, rather than as an early teen. He is from Warrensburg, Missouri and appeared in RUDOLPH at The Coterie Theatre, NEWSIES at The White Theatre, and as Michael Banks in MARY POPPINS. A year ago he performed at Carnegie Hall as a featured soloist with Camp Broadway. He has been a member of Center Stage Academy's competitive dance team since he was five.

Mrs. Wilkenson the ballet teacher who discovers Billy's talent is played by Julie Shaw. Kansas City has a fantastic pool of talented performing artist and Shaw is among the cream of the crop. She brings a high intensity to each performance. There has not been a more touching moment in Kansas City theater than when Billy, Mrs. Wilkenson, and Billy's mum (played by Jennifer Renfrow) sing, "The Letter (Mum's Letter)".

Robert J. Hingula, Timothy Houston, Robin Robles, and Marilyn Lynch among others give outstanding performances. Lynch is delightful as she performs "Grandma's Song" in Act One. Hingula and Houston give strong dramatic performances and the dad and Tony, Billy's brother. Robles is splendid as Michael, Billy's friend.

BILLY ELLIOT continues at Just Off Broadway Theatre through April 20. Purchase tickets online at spinningtreetheatre.com/billy-elliot-tickets.

Photo credit: J. Robert Schraeder

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