On Friday and Saturday evening I had the chance to see Billy again. Since my last time I had seen Billy a new master has started in the title role: Aaron Watson. Lucky how I am I was able to see him on Friday!
Since Aaron is relatively new on the Billy stage, I did not expect a performance as perfect as from the “older” Billys – it is quite normal that the children develop over time. But I was proven wrong (actually that had also happened to me with Rhys)! Aaron is a fantastic actor and dancer! It was great to see him perform. Loved every minute of it and will be happy to see him again!
On Saturday evening I was surprised by Dean. He is a good example of someone who has matured over time. The last time I had seen him, he was already doing much better than when I saw him the first time (of course he was already good when he started!). But this time he was just perfect. To me his singing is the best of all, his dancing was wonderful – rewarded with some intermediate applause during Electricity and a standing ovation for Electricity – but what I really would like to point out was his acting. It was one of the best performance I have seen from a Billy in respect to acting. Dean outacted some of the adult cast! He was outstanding!
Another positive suprise on both days was Jake as Michael. As I pointed out in other posts, the most important part of the role of Michael to me is the winter scene, when he reveals his feelings to Billy. I think this is very hard to play for a young boy as he cannot fall back on any experiences, therefore the funny part of the scene is often emphasized. But Jake was very good at it in the interaction with Aaron and Dean; I was really moved! Also very good interaction during Express. Great performances on both shows!
I really like Francesca as Debby. She was terrific on both evenings!
Most of the adult cast was very good, as always. Craig Gallivan is definitely my favourite! Unfortunately I was not able to warm up to the new actress of Mrs. Wilkinson.
Concerning the major change of Born to Boogie: it was worse, than I expected! Terrible combination of rope skipping and dancing; Mrs. Wilkinson looks silly with boxing gloves. The dancing has nothing to do with Boogie. To me the actors looked awkward in this scene; it has totally lost its flow.
To sum it up: two memorable shows despite some little flaws.
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