Tuesday, 10/18/11 – Billy: Giuseppe; Michael: Jack; Tall Boy: Joseph H.
Seeing BETM with all of the new cast was like seeing an entirely new show. Except for our old friend, Thommie, I didn’t recognize anyone!
First of all, I find the script changes removing a couple of f-bombs to be totally silly. Tonight, Billy said “I really don’t know” or something like that, and later he said “Flippppin’ hell!”. But except for those changes, the f-bomb was prevalent, especially from Michael. It is weird that they made these changes.
Uhmm, so anyway, this was my first time seeing Giuseppe and I was truly impressed. He is one of the best singing and best acting Billys I have seen. Even though his voice is on the edge, it is still fine to listen to. And like all of the best acting Billys, Giuseppe reacted rather than acted. He really seemed to be a part of everything going on. He was fun to watch. And during the letter scene, he was truly crying and continued to wipe his eyes at the begnning of Born to Boogie. My only complaint is that like so many boys, he made the mistake of listening to the director and doing the “My mom’s dead!” line too fast.
I also loved Jack as Michael. He was full of life and full of fun. Of course, he is so short he had to do what every short Michael has to do, which is grab Billy’s neck and pull him down to kiss him. But the line delivery was good and he was a real audience favorite. I also like that his “Yeah, see ya Billy” at the end sounded like I think is should: resigned to the fact that Billy is getting out, Michael isn’t and he knows he might not see Billy again.
The new Dad is a bit of a shock. I though Barney Fife had taken over the role at first. He has a kind of nasally voice sometimes. And he is bald with a dark fringe, a totally different look than Greg or any other dad’s I have seen. He really did not look much like a coal miner, whatever they look like. But as the show went along, he really grew on me.
I liked his line delivery. As many people will remember, I have always had a problem with Dad saying “Your mam’s dead!” line right on top of Billy’s, without even thinking about it. The new Dad delivered the line just right, with just the right amount of pause.
Dad really gets a chance to shine during the beginning of the RBS scene when they are on the “stage”. I liked this scene a lot, maybe because so many things were new.
Grandma – some people do not seem to like the new Grandma because she is not a great singer. Who cares? Grandma has one song that does not really have to be “sung”. Anyway, once again, I liked her just fine, and once again the best part seemed to be her line delivery.
I don’t get too involved with my Tonys. The current one, who I am told came from the tour, is pretty good. Lots of good emotion.
Emily as Mrs. W. I’ve said enough about her in the past. She isn’t the best I have seen, but she does the job, so meh.
I did not like the new George. He just didn’t seem the right build for the role. Also, when he tells the boys to piss off, he sticks out his arm too soon, so the other boys run around it and Michael runs into it and falls. Really stupid looking.
Also, if they are going to start using Billys to play Tall Boy, at least teach them the role. Joseph played Tall Boy for this performance, and when his scab dad comes into the hall, he didn’t jump up on the chair like he was scared, he just…uhmm, got on a chair. And he was leaning forward like he was waiting for dad to grab him and drag him out. Anyway, it sucked.
Ohh, I should mention also that this is one of the few shows where the audience could actually hear and understand Debbie’s lines in the toilet scene.
I came away with the impression that the previous adult cast was getting bored with their roles, while this new adult cast is really glad to be there and breathing a last gasp of life into the show. I do hpe that the directors have not given up on it and will still try to fix little things as they see them over the next three months.
Changes:
There were a lot of changes to the show, and most of them I liked. In no particular order:
1)At the end of the winter scene, when Michael says “Merry Christmas” to Billy, for the first time that I have seen it, Billy replies “Merry Christmas.” It always seemed weird that he didn’t do it before.
2)Loved the RBS stage scene with Dad and Billy. It is more fun and makes more sense. Dad does some funny stuff which is refreshing to see.
3)At the very end, I liked the clothes folding thing and Dad and Billy made the most of it. Billy did a thing where he put a jacket on his back and pretended to be Superman wearing a cape. But I am confused about the pulling the jacket out of the bag like it is a new gift. It’s the same jacket that Billy wore at the RBS audition. Or are we supposed to think that it is a new jacket that looks the same as the old one?
4)At the beginning of the second half, the guy in the Santa suit (never figured out who that is) does a little song number that was funny.
5)I really, REALLY liked the harmony bit that Dad and Billy do at the end of Deep Into the Ground.
There were a lot of other little changes which work and I think made it a fresh new show. I am told a lot of them came from the tour, which makes me sorry I have never seen the touring version of the show.
Overall, I came away quite please with this show. Will be interesting seeing what other new Billys there are waiting for me.