Based on the 2000 film of the same name, the musical is set in Northern England during 1984–1985, the time of a bitter coal miners’ strike. In one of the many towns where most people depend on the mines for their livelihood lives the Elliot family. The family consists of Dad (Gregory Jbara), a longtime widower, coal miner, and union man; eldest son Tony (Santino Fontana); and 11-year-old Billy (played on different nights by David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish). (Kulish played the role the night this reviewer saw the show.) Also in the household is Grandma (the wonderful Carole Shelley), a woman who is beginning to slip a bit mentally.
Due to the labor situation, the family, like the community, is struggling to make ends meet, and both funds and tempers are short. Still, there is enough to pay for Billy's boxing lessons.
One day after a lesson, he accidentally wanders into a ballet class run by the no-nonsense Mrs. Wilkinson (Haydn Gwynne, recreating the role she originated in London). To everyone's surprise, it soon becomes obvious Billy has a special gift when it comes to dancing. Soon he is doing extensions and pirouettes with ease, at least until his Dad finds out and hauls him out of there.
However Mrs. Wilkinson wants Billy to audition for the Royal Ballet of London. To that end, she secretly arranges to give him private lesions for free. But on the day of the audition, a clash between the strikers and police, and the family's discovery about what Billy and Mrs. Wilkinson plan to do, threaten to destroy his hopes and squash his passion for dancing forever.
This is a show with an epic storyline, yet at its heart, the musical has the simple message of following your dreams and being true to yourself. Masterfully and meticulously crafted, "Billy Elliot" is structured in a way that not only allows the audience to watch Billy follow his love for dancing, they're also there when he actually discovers this love, as well as the moment when it becomes apparent he has the potential to be something special.
It's interesting to note that for a musical there are not that many musical numbers, with the ones that do occur focusing more on dancing than vocals. Fortunately, all such moments nicely carry the plot along (such as an intricately choreographed number where events with the strikers and police juxtapose with the youngsters in ballet class) or act as conduits of emotion, such as Billy's dance of joy (when he explains why he likes to dance) or of anger (that is at the close of act one when his chance to dance may be denied forever).
There's even a wonderful flight of fancy (“Expressing Yourself”) with Billy and his young friend Michael (David Bologna, Frank Dolce—Dolce playing the role on this particular night) leading to a hilarious number that would not be out of place in a Disney stage show or animate film.
Kulish as the title character is touchingly real as a youngster trying to survive in a family constantly in turmoil. A quiet and shy individual, he eventually begins to come alive when he discovers his calling. But more than his dancing, which is both emotionally and technically riveting in styles ranging from ballet to tap, Kulish is also able to bring to life Billy's pain, suffering, and feelings of helplessness.
Jbara is very good as Billy’s dad, at first a somewhat standard single, macho father who feels ballet is beneath his son (and his family). Yet when he realizes Billy has a chance for a better life, one that doesn't include digging in a coalmine, he's willing to compromise his long-held beliefs for the sake of his son's happiness, despite any cost to him personally.
Two other strong supporting performances come from Shelley and Gwynne. Shelley shines in a heartbreaking number when her character recalls perhaps her only moments of real joy in an otherwise hard life.
As for Gwynne, she gives an earthy portrayal as a second-rate dance teacher who sees in Billy the potential for greatness. As she makes him her personal project, she becomes a sort of surrogate mother to him, with their final scenes together being quite tender. [caption id=”attachment_77679″ align=”alignleft” width=”320″ caption=”BORN DANCER: Kiril Kulish as Billy in the musical