BWW Reviews: BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL at the Paramount

Every now and again a show comes along that wins all the awards, sells out the houses and gets all the praise and I simply look at it and ask, "Why?"  Well, the Paramount is currently presenting one of those shows.  The national tour of the Best Musical Tony Award winning "Billy Elliot The Musical" has come to town and now after having seen the production I still ask, "Why?"  Why is this so popular?

Based on the 2000 hit film and with book and lyrics by Lee Hall and music by Elton John, the story (in case you somehow missed the film) follows 11 year old Billy (Lex Ishimoto in the performance I saw), the son of a working class miner in Northern England in 1984.  Dad (Rich Hebert) and brother Tony (Jeff Kready) are both miners and are now suddenly on strike protesting against Margaret Thatcher's threat to close down the plants.  But an 11 year old doesn't know much of all that, he's just trying to figure out who he is.  So when he accidentally shows up late for his boxing class and ends up in a ballet class, he finds that not only does he have an aptitude for the dance, but also a passion for it, much to the delight of the local dance teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson (Faith Prince).  But dancing is not something a little boy from a working class family does so the strength of this family is tested as Billy gets an audition for the Royal Ballet School in London.

Sounds like a lovely story right?  And it is.  I adore this movie, so that's not the problem.  The problem I find is with the show itself and, as of this production, many of the performances.  For some reason, it seems director Stephen Daldry has instructed the cast to play every moment as loud, chaotic, and over blown as possible.  Especially the child actors in the show who mugged and over enunciated their way through every scene.  The only truly genuine performances I saw last night were from Hebert whose rendition of "Deep into the Ground" was absolutely stirring, and Prince who, while her usual wonderful self, seems a bit wasted in the role.  But then that could have something to do with the fact that during her one big number there was so much chaotic screaming from the children and deafening music that I could barely hear her sing.

OK, so the performances didn't thrill me but what about the story?  Like I said, I love the movie but they have gutted everything out of it in favor of trying to be moody.  They have replaced the heart and emotion with anger and rage.  The structure of it was so muddled that it was difficult to tell anyone's intention at any given point.  And the music and lyrics are so repetitive and unmemorable that they do nothing to help advance or even accentuate the plot.  I feel the play relies a bit too heavily on advance knowledge of the movie even to the point of eliminating the wonderful ending where we find out whether Billy makes it as a dancer or not.  Was all this struggle and suffering worth it?  Well, if you've only seen the play, you'll never know. 

The only part of the show that actually worked for me (other than Prince and Hebert's performances) was the dance.  The choreography by Peter Darling in the show is absolutely stunning and the Dream Sequence ballet number with young Billy and the impression of an adult Billy (beautifully danced by Maximilien A. Baud) was nothing short of spectacular.  But then, this moment was simple, artful and quiet and what the show could have used more of.  And then it was gone and we were back to the show that is unable to distinguish loud from emotional. 

You may have noticed that I've mentionEd Loud a few times.  The sound designers of the show would do well to take a listen to when people are singing and turn down the over amped orchestra so we could actually hear a lyric or two.  But then, I've heard the lyrics on the cast album and maybe it's intentional to drown them out.  I mean, after all, if you missed it the first time they sing it, you're sure to hear it one of the subsequent hundred times.  They were singing about "Solidarity", right?

So, is it worth the ticket?  If you're a fan of dance, probably.  Like I said, that is breathtaking.  But if you're going for a good musical that captures the soul of its lovely source material, you'd do better humming to yourself as you watch the movie.

"Billy Elliot The Musical" plays at Seattle's Paramount Theatre through April 3^rd.  For tickets or information contact them at 877-STG-4TIX (784-4849) or visit them online at www.stgpresents.org or www.tickets.com.

Photo credits: Michael Brosilow

 

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