The bright lights of Broadway typically have a British beam about them, thanks to a steady stream of London imports crossing the pond.This season, two of the most buzzworthy shows live up to all of their incoming hype.
The biggest news is the Broadway arrival of Billy Elliot—The Musical, though the revival of Peter Shaffer's Equus ( Photo by Carol Rosegg ) has generated more gossip-column ink thanks to its star, Daniel Radcliffe ( of Harry Potter fame ) , displaying 'his naughty bits' ( as one British friend of mine put it ) .
I was able to catch both shows on a recent Saturday in New York. Despite the economic downturn, both shows were packed to the gills with eager and appreciative crowds.
I wholly expect Billy Elliot to be the juggernaut hit it already is in London, Sydney and Melbourne—even if a key element of the show will go over the heads of most American audiences.
Billy Elliot, of course, is based upon the hit 2000 film about a motherless northern English lad who develops a passion for ballet, despite the objections of his surly coal miner dad and brother, who are both out on strike.
Out pop icon Elton John reportedly wept at the Cannes screening of the film, since it mirrored his own situation growing up. We should be thankful that John doggedly pursued screenwriter Lee Hall to musicalize his property, since it has become one of the best and emotionally resonant British musicals ever written.
I saw Billy Elliot in the United Kingdom when it debuted in 2005. Here was a homegrown show that connected on multiple levels. Not only was there the underdog story of a kid using his talents to express himself and rise above his limited expectations, but Billy Elliot also served as an elegy for all the British mining communities that were devastated when the conservative Tory government of Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher went on an iron-fisted privatizing binge in the 1980s.
U.S. residents probably won't get the political aspect of Billy Elliot, despite the creators' attempts to add more context. ( Audiences might wonder why the characters are being so nasty to the former prime minister in the Act II opener Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher. ) But Billy Elliot still soars on the title character's brave journey to follow his dream of dancing.
Thankfully, the Broadway Billy Elliot hasn't been dumbed down or sanitized for people on this side of the pond. The largely U.S. cast still lays on the thick northern English accents and the kids still swear like sailors.
My major qualm was the production team aggrandizing of the kids' cross-dressing number Expressing Yourself. Instead of two boys innocently playing dress-up next to a wardrobe, it becomes a gaudy dance number on a Las Vegas scale.
Director Stephen Daldry and choreographer Peter Darling helm a big Broadway cast ( over 40 ) with plenty of seamless staging ( particularly in Solidarity, which juxtaposes a kids ballet lesson with a violent clash between miners and police ) . There are standout performances from original cast member Haydn Gwynne as Billy's blasé dance instructor Mrs. Wilkinson and Carole Shelley as Billy's dotty grandma. ( It's also great to see Chicago actor Joel Hatch making his Broadway debut as boxing coach George after triumphing in the transfer of the musical Adding Machine. )
One of the most celebrated aspects of Billy Elliot is that the title role is shared by three boys since it is so physically and emotionally demanding. I was able to see the Billy of Trent Kowalik, the strongest tap dancer amid his reportedly more balletic peers, David Alvarez and Kiril Kulish.
Kowalik hit all the right emotional notes and delivered his difficult choreography with great skill. The fact that he's able to do all of this at the age of 13 is amazing.
Thanks to his work in the Harry Potter film franchise, we've been able to watch British actor Daniel Radcliffe grow up through the years.
So to see Radcliffe succeed at playing so much against type in Equus shows there is more to him than being typecast as a J.K. Rowling wizard. After all, Harry Potter would never gouge out the eyes of six horses the way that the troubled youth Alan Strang does.
Joining Radcliffe for his Equus ride is Tony Award-winner Richard Griffiths ( The History Boys ) and Kate Mulgrew of Star Trek: Voyager fame. Griffiths offers sturdy and underplayed support as the analyst Martin Dysart who tries to find the root of Strang's shocking behavior.
As always, the homoerotic undercurrent of the play comes through in director Thea Sharrock's staging that, once again, employs six strapping men in masks to portray the horses.
If you've seen Equus before, the production may not have as much power since you'll already know the ending to its intriguing mystery. Yet for Equus virgins, the show still has the ceremonial power to shock and awe.
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