Michael Dameski as Billy Elliot. Photo: Carol Rosegg
The Hennepin Theatre Trust has brought a powerhouse hit in for the holidays with the Tony Award-winning Billy Elliot. Based on the Universal Pictures/Studio Canal film, but reworked for the stage production by bookwriter and lyricist Lee Hall, and with music by Elton John, it’s an especially interesting piece, conceptually, for a Broadway production, and quite simply a great story.
The 12-year-old Billy is growing up with his hot-headed older brother (Jeff Kready), his slightly senile grandma (Patti Perkins), and his dad (Rich Hebert), who has never recovered from losing their “mum†years before. As part of a mining community in northern England, they suffer with the entire town through a strike and accompanying civil unrest, and the failing coal industry. The way in which Billy’s personal story is juxtaposed visually against the rough world of the desperate miners makes for some ingenious dramatic action and choreography.
For his part, Billy has little interest in the boxing lessons that seem to be obligatory for young boys, and failing in that, stumbles upon a dance studio in the same location. The teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, played to perfection by Tony-winner Faith Prince, chain smokes her way through a class populated by a mismatched batch of young dancers – none who are supposed to have any real talent. But she recognizes quickly that Billy is extraordinary and grooms him for an audition with the Royal Ballet.
This is Broadway, so you know how it comes out, but the trip to that point is (mostly) beautifully realized. More than anything, it is the young Michael Dameski in his portrayal of Billy that lifts this above and truly touches our hearts. He is an amazing dancer. The Swan Lake pas de deux, performed with “older Billy,†Maximilien A. Baud, was just exquisite and got the biggest roar of approval from the audience all night. I obviously was not the only one who would have willingly sacrificed some tap dancing for more of that. It is, after all, about a ballet dancer. The flying portion of the scene was completely unnecessary; those two were already flying – without the mechanics.
This large cast for a touring production was wonderfully versatile and rich in talent. And they all mastered the dialect. (When I lived in Norway, my best friend was from Newcastle and amused us by lapsing into the miners’ distinctive dialect and telling “Jordy†jokes.) It was just one example of the consistent attention to detail that made the production shine, just like its powerful extended musical scene, “Shineâ€/“Solidarity.â€
A special mention for Perkins in “We’d Go Dancing:†it was utterly charming and perfectly placed in the act. Also, watching Jacob Zelonky as Billy’s cross-dressing young friend, Michael, was like peaking in at kids just being kids – maybe a little quirkier than some, but completely believable and loveable.
If I were writing about just the first act, I would be searching my thesaurus for more words to rave about it. It was so engaging on every level and wonderfully complex musically and visually. I absolutely loved it! Act II slithered into mainstream Broadway and lost some of its punch and grit – even with mounting tensions and violence. Had it ended without caving in to a Broadway-style, feel-good production number, I might have felt differently. I was more than sufficiently uplifted knowing Billy’s life would be better than his hometown could offer him, and I didn’t need the tap-dancing-in-tutus silliness.
That said, it’s great entertainment and if Broadway’s your thing, it doesn’t get any better than this. Billy Elliot runs through January 9.