Billy Elliot the Musical @ Playhouse Square
A Study in Contrasts
Billy Elliot the Musical is the story of a boy who pursues his dream of becoming a ballet dancer, which is in direct opposition to his community of coal miners, particularly his burly father and defiant brother. Once exposed to the world of ballet, his natural talent is noticed and secretly nurtured by the local ballet teacher. Billy is also encouraged by the fleeting and emotional encounters with his dead mother and ultimately he is accepted into the Royal Ballet School. In the end, the frail child and his fragile dream of dance prevail – in contrast to the determined miners, whose strike fails and who return to work as defeated men.
What struck me first about Billy Elliot the Musical was its almost-contemporary setting. Musical theatre is often set in another time and place. If people dance and sing in that world, it is not our world and we accept it. Situated in the contemporary period of England in the 1980s, Billy Elliot the Musical takes a tightrope walk, balancing the music, singing and dancing in that somewhat-modern setting, making it believable. Heap on top of that challenge a cast of characters who are predominantly rugged coal miners who pull it off so well, it is convincing.
What is especially notable is the contrast of the tiny ballet students, fluffy white tutus and all, with the rough-and-tumble miners. This juxtaposition is humorously dramatized in the finale when the entire cast gradually don tutus, and in the miners’ case, right on top of their overalls!
The musical numbers most impressive to me are: “Expressing Yourself,” in which Michael, Billy’s cross-dressing friend, persuades Billy to try on some dresses, which come to life in absurd proportion and dance their hearts out with them. “Angry Dance” portrays the injustice of Billy’s temporarily-crushed dream of auditioning for the Royal Ballet School. He rants through his room dismantling the furnishings and throwing them out the window. The music shouts and bellows discordantly, further dramatizing Billy’s anguish and ending the first half of the show. This leaves the audience hanging in unresolved emotion. The second half of the show opens with a boisterous performance of “Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher,” lampooning the miner’s villain with ridiculous puppetry. Then just when we think the show is ending with a solemn Michael bidding goodbye to Billy from his bike alone on the stage, the cast reappears, bit by bit, until a crescendo of the entire company is in full dance review… tutus and all.
Billy Elliot The Musical‘s last performance in Cleveland was Sun 12/12, but the resilient spirit of an unpopular aspiration is still alive and well in Northeast Ohio.
Carol Drummond has been a professional designer for 25 years. Prior to starting her award-winning graphic design studio 15 years ago, Drummond Design, she graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, worked at a graphic design studio, a video production company, and a consumer products company. She has been an art docent for Mayfield City Schools and currently serves on the COSE Arts Network Advisory Committee. http://www.DrummonDesign.com