BILLY ELLIOT the Musical Broadway review

The Imperial has found itself a new show that will run for a very, very long time.

BILLY ELLIOT the Musical is a massive show that is, at its core, a very simple story. The thing that sets BILLY apart from all the other musicals right now is that it doesn't try to be anything it isn't - it doesn't TRY to be a big, splashy, flashy, tacky, etc Broadway musical - it very simply tells the story with heart, passion and energy.

As a scenic designer, I was absolutely fascinated by the choices made with the design. Ian MacNeil hit the design on the head and then some. The set itself has a certain character about it - it's very drab and dirty and some have complained about it, calling it ugly - it has done its job. The miners' strike was not happy, cheery, bright, etc it WAS drab and dirty, very bleak and disheartening. The coolest part of the set is the "screwdriver" spiral-staircase unit that revolves, rises and falls out of and into the stage. The back of the stage is a simple brick wall that is visible almost the entire show and serves as a great 'backdrop' for the musical, as opposed to something like a painted cyc.

The lighting design was phenomenal! From various moments of lighting that projected shadows of the actors onto the brick wall at the back of the stage, to the incredible colors in 'ANGRY DANCE' - the lighting was truly fantastic and definitely deserves notice.

David Alvarez was on for BILLY that night and was breathtaking. His BILLY is so genuine, pure, honest - I could go on with plenty of adjectives, but I won't. David was simply perfect. No one could take their eyes of off him and his 'ANGRY DANCE' had everyone holding their breath - it was unbelievable. Applause lasted long after he left the stage for intermission.

Elton John's music and Lee Hall's lyrics are not typical, brassy Broadway songs. They're simply not. If you're going in expecting huge musical theatre 'hits' and should-be standards, you're out of luck. However, if you're looking for music that fits this show and helps tell the story and pushing the plot forward - you're in luck. Lee Hall's lyrics are very, very smart and original and, again, extremely genuine. Elton's music is perfectly matched to Lee's lyrics and his music for the "ANGRY DANCE" brings something of a huge rock concert to mind, but with the beating of a heart as the basis for the whole thing.

Lee Hall's book is very smart and raw. Definitely one of the strongest, if not the strongest, aspect of the show.

A quick rundown of things that stood out/moved me the most...

-The boxing scene - VERY funny, especially the little kid walking out. Audience ate it up!

-SHINE - Hayden Gwyn rocked this song and made it clear she thoroughly understands Mrs. Wilkinson and then some. The girls' ensemble is a hoot and each one has a clear character - loved it.

-SOLIDARITY - Stephen Daldry's direction is so organic and symbolic - definitely a memorable song and powerful one at that.

-EXPRESS YOURSELF - Frank Dolce as Michael was perfection. The lines were delivered so dead-on and the song got incredible reception, it certainly puts things in a different place with a message like this coming from kids to adults, as opposed to it coming from adults to adults...

-ANGRY DANCE - By far the best moment in the show for me. From the moment the first chord hits with Billy running up the stairs, to him throwing the mattress off of his landing and the lighting creating the shadow of him on the back wall. Wow. When the 'screwdriver' unit started to revolve with him tapping it became even more impressive and passionate. Once he made it down to the stage level and the shack came up it was clear David was deep into the role and had let it all out - the small bit I really loved was with the pieces of the huge sign - from Billy being lifted on one to being dragged by someone reaching through one to the back of the stage where all the pieces came together - very powerful. The shields and the police officers banging on the shields was such a powerful image and everything in this moment made that even more powerful (lighting, smoke, music). What really put it over the edge was how loud the music got - it's as if they turned everything up as high as it would go and then told the orchestra to play as loud as possible. Just, wow. I get chills just thinking about it.

-MERRY CHRISTMAS MAGGIE THATCHER - Very funny and the audience got it!

-Transition during DEEP INTO THE GROUND - The staging of the transition was fantastic. Definitely made me take note of it in my mind.

-SWAN LAKE - A very powerful moment of theatre. The whole scene is unbelievable and extremely energizing to watch. When the dance proper ends and Billy dances to his father - lots of tears came. The entire scene working up the that is so well constructed that all the emotion going with it just builds and builds, but you don't notice it until he dances up to his dad and finishes.

-ELECTRICITY - The applause David received stopped the show. Well deserved.

-The ending was very interesting - I'm well aware of the 'megamix' though I think I prefer the show without it. Being left with Michael onstage and Billy leaving through the audience certainly isn't the happiest ending, but it's real and puts a bittersweet outlook on the whole thing.

It's my understanding the 'megamix' will return later in previews once the big kinks are hammered out...

Other notes - David Furnish (Producer of the show and husband of Elton John) was sitting behind me... Lee Hall, Peter Darling and Stephen Daldry were at the back of the house with all of their assistants taking pages of notes... I talked to Stephen very briefly to tell him how much I was enjoying the show and he seemed to enjoy the feedback....

If this is a very 'rough' version of the show with more work to be done, I can't imagine what the final product will be - incredibly stunning show and the best piece of the theatre I've ever seen.

Feel free to ask questions...


EDIT - It completely slipped my mind to mention the direction. Stephen Daldry has directed this show so naturally and organically that it makes it feel REAL. The moment that you first truly notice his fantastic direction is in GRANDMA'S SONG/WE'D GO DANCING - the 'ghosts' moving across the stage in a 'slow motion' throughout the song and interacting with Grandma... beautiful - it really felt like you were either watching a movie take place in front of you, or you were seeing these people in Grandma's mind... the point is, it's a beautiful image and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Tickets!!!!!!!!!

Fidelity Fined $8 Million in Probe of `Lavish' Gifts (Update3)

By David Scheer and Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Fidelity Investments will pay $8 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims that Vice Chairman Peter Lynch and a dozen employees accepted Super Bowl tickets, private-jet travel and other gifts from brokers.

The world's largest mutual-fund manager failed to seek the best terms for trades as employees took gifts and had ``romantic relationships'' with outside brokers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement today. Lynch, former manager of the flagship Fidelity Magellan fund, former head trader Scott DeSano and 11 other current and former employees accepted more than $1.6 million in perks, the agency said.

``The broker-selection process on Fidelity's equity trading desk was compromised when gifts and lavish entertainment swayed the flow of brokerage business,'' Walter Ricciardi, the SEC's deputy enforcement director, said in the statement.

The settlement ends a three-year investigation that tainted the Boston-based money manager, which oversees $1.6 trillion for 24 million customers and is known for strict internal standards. The closely held company's independent trustees fined Fidelity $42 million in December 2006 after probing what Chairman Edward Johnson III called ``this improper behavior.''

Independent Probe

The trustees' 2006 investigation, released by the SEC today, shows the stakes involved. In one case, a trader used a broker to buy 8 million shares in Tyco International Ltd., days before the broker flew him on a private jet to the Super Bowl in Houston in 2002, the report says. The trades cost the funds $18 million, though that may have been partly due to unpredictable market events, it said.

``While no one can say that Fidelity could have obtained better execution from some other broker,'' the size of the costs show why traders should pick brokers objectively, it said.

Illicit drugs and luxury vacations were also listed among gifts in the SEC's 39-page order.

Former Fidelity trader Thomas Bruderman, 39, allegedly received ecstasy pills and marijuana from brokers ``on a number of occasions,'' the agency wrote. In 2003, his three-day bachelor party in Miami cost brokers $160,000, it said.

Former Fidelity trader David Donovan, 45, took 24 trips in which brokers covered most expenses, according to the complaint. Travel included at least two first-class flights on the supersonic Concorde airliner, it said.

Lynch, 64, received ``numerous'' free tickets to concerts, theater and sporting events via Fidelity's traders, according to the SEC. He agreed to forfeit more than $20,000, representing the value of the enticements, plus interest.

Romantic Relationships

DeSano knew some of the firm's traders steered transactions to brokers who provided entertainment, travel and gifts, or with whom they had family or romantic relationships, the SEC said.

The agency's claims are still pending against DeSano, Bruderman, Donovan and seven other past and current employees.

DeSano's attorney, Jeffrey Rudman in Washington, and Bruderman's attorney, Thomas Kiley in Boston, didn't return phone calls seeking comment. Donovan's lawyer, Raipher Pellegrino, declined to comment.

Fidelity and Lynch didn't admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

``We do recognize the seriousness of the misconduct,'' even though the SEC didn't find Fidelity harmed shareholders or its funds, the company said in a statement. ``The behavior that led to these settlements is not at all indicative of the ethical standards of our company.''

Fidelity disciplined employees involved and took other steps to prevent future misconduct, it said. Most of the employees cited by the SEC have left the company, and none remain on the trading desk.

`The Lion King'

Lynch said in a statement that he had asked the trading desk for ``occasional help locating tickets.'' Events included performances of ``The Nutcracker'' and the ``The Lion King.'' He also got 14 three-day passes to the Ryder Cup golf tournament at the Brookline Country Club in suburban Boston, where he had once been a caddy.

``I never intended to do anything inappropriate, and I regret having made those requests,'' Lynch said. He never worked at the trading desk, and has not placed trades on behalf of Fidelity for the past 17 years, he said.

Broadway Stagehands, Producers Face Fourth Day of Strike Talks

Broadway Stagehands, Producers Face Fourth Day of Strike Talks

By Philip Boroff

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Stagehands and producers meet in New York today for the fourth straight day to try to end a strike that's led to the cancellation of more than 500 performances.

After about 30 hours of talks spread over two marathon sessions, negotiators return to the theater district offices of Proskauer Rose LLP to salvage what's left of the holiday season. Talks are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

``We made some progress,'' Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the League of American Theatres and Producers, said in an interview after talks yesterday. ``We just don't have a deal.''

Since stagehands represented by Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees walked off the job without warning on Nov. 10, 26 of Broadway's 35 shows have been shut down. The industry had ticket sales of $4.3 million in the week ending Nov. 25, down 81 percent from the $23.3 million weekly gross a year ago, according to figures out yesterday from the League of American Theatres and Producers.

Last week's grosses exclude ``Young Frankenstein,'' the Mel Brooks musical that shuns industry tradition and does not disclose ticket sales.

Producers and union officials involved in the talks say a conflict over work rules for the load-in of sets -- which can cost producers more than $1 million per show -- has already been revised. Still to be resolved are labor rules for shows that are already running, as well as pay increases. Producers said last week they offered a 20 percent increase over five years.

All-Night Vigils

The talks, which officially began in July, have of late attracted round-the-clock media attention. Yesterday, reporters, cameramen and news vehicles clogged West 48th Street outside Proskauer, which shares its office building with Morgan Stanley. During two successive all-night vigils, television people napped in their vans as writers and photographers loitered uncomfortably on the sidewalk.

While producers and union members are cushioned by separate multimillion-dollar strike funds, the dispute has cost the city's economy dearly. New York City Comptroller William Thompson puts the impact at $2 million a day. That estimate assumes that most out-of-town tourists who are shut out of Broadway will spend an equal amount of money on other activities.

``I think someone is assuming too much,'' Jeffrey Friedland, a Harvey, Louisiana-based theater diehard, wrote in an e-mail.

``I have been talking to a lot of friends who have cancelled plans to go to New York because of the strike, and one couple who was already there just went to museums and walked around the Village. No extra spending. They pocketed the refunds and came back home, very irritated and disappointed.''

`Grinch' Return

Just one show has reopened so far, after missing 23 performances. On Nov. 23, ``Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! -- The Musical'' resumed performances after the producers won a court fight against their landlord, Jujamcyn Theaters. Jujamcyn sought to keep the show closed while Local One was striking in its four other theaters.

``Grinch'' has a separate contract allowing as many as 15 performances a week -- seven more than the typical Broadway show.

When ``Grinch'' reopened, it faced a daunting challenge: it had 18,000 tickets to sell for 11 performances over a three-day weekend. People who'd used credit cards to buy tickets before the strike had received automatic refunds.

``We did very well considering that families had only two days notice,'' said Tomm Miller, vice president of marketing for Running Subway LLC, the show's lead producer. She said ``Grinch'' played to about 90 percent capacity over the weekend -- good under the circumstances but disappointing for what's normally one of the year's busiest theater weekends.

When the strike is resolved, many other shows will struggle to regain momentum, without the giddy and concentrated press coverage that the ``Grinch'' enjoyed. New plays without stars may be particularly vulnerable.

``Every day you have refunds, your advance sale goes down,'' said Robyn Goodman, a veteran Broadway and off-Broadway producer and serious-play devotee. ``If you only had a small advance, it can go down to zero.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff@bloomberg.net .

The Color Purple on Broadway suring the strike

Broadway strike information 2007

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The company, which in January was acquired by rival eBay, is opening a store at 1440 Broadway and 40th Street this Friday

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Little Mermaid Broadway review

Saturday, August 18, 2007
"The Little Mermaid" Pre-Broadway review




On Thursday night Ryan and I went to see The Little Mermaid downtown. They are having their soft opening here prior to opening in December on Broadway. I was not quite sure how they would do everything. I also had some pretty high expectations since that is my favorite Disney film. Well, it was great! The music was very good. They wrote a few original songs for the musical and had some of the same from the film. The actress who portrayed Aerial did a fantastic job. She has an outstanding voice and sounded very much like the film (as a side note, she is also originally from CO!). The actress who played Ursula had a great voice as well and we so good. People were laughing at the jokes throughout the performance and everyone seemed entertained, even all the children who attended. I did not hear one get upset/bored. This is something I would absolutely see again. If you have the chance to catch it here (it's here until September 6th I believe) or on Broadway, I highly recommend it. Ryan is not a musical fan but he went with me, so sweet!! This is hard to say, but I have to be honest when I say that I enjoyed it more than Phantom of the Opera, which was previously my favorite. Thanks for the great birthday seats (which were orchestra center I might add!) Mom and Dad (oops, this is Austin's blog, grandma and grandpa!)!
There is my personal ramble for the day, enjoy :)
http://ryandsa.blogspot.com/2007/08/little-mermaid-pre-broadway-review.html

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Tarzan closes on Broadway July 8th

It's a vine mess as 'Tarzan' plops

Sunday, June 24th 2007, 8:46 PM
"Tarzan" is finding out that New York really is a jungle.

The Broadway show based on the branch-hopping Disney character is set to close July 8 after 486 performances because it isn't making enough money.

"I am disappointed that the Broadway production of 'Tarzan' will close earlier than any of us had hoped, and I would have loved for it to have been as successful in New York as it now is in Holland," Thomas Schumacher, of Disney Theatrical Productions, told The Associated Press.

Despite a score by pop star Phil Collins, "Tarzan" was dogged by negative reviews on Broadway.