Reporting on 10 Amazing Years

Today, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center released a special
10th Anniversary Report to the Community!

With so many memorable moments and milestones, the Fox Cities P.A.C. could hardly fit everything into one short book. As you flip the pages, please join us in remembering 10 amazing years in the spotlight. The 2011/12 Season Snapshot captures the latest year of accomplishments.

Do you have a favorite memory of time spent at the Fox Cities P.A.C.?
Tell us about your special moment with Share Your Story at foxcitiespac.com/ten. Simply write a note or post a photo, and you will be entered for a chance to win 2 tickets to Fox Cities P.A.C. Fan Day with SCRAP•ARTS•MUSIC!

Show & Tell Review: Billy Elliot the Musical

Written by Lori

Billy Elliot the Musical opened last night at the Fox Cities P.A.C. The story begins in a small town, in Northern England in 1984. It is raw in language, devoid of color, and fierce with loyalty to the unions that kept the characters alive. 

As described by Director Stephen Daldry, “What appealed to me most about doing the show was to have the opportunity to delve into the miners’ strike. That strike was one of the most important events in my life, as well as in domestic village politics. It’s not possible to exaggerate the cultural flowering that happened during that year in the pit villages. There was a real shift in consciousness for everybody involved in those villages, which is part of the sadness of the whole story. Because something extraordinary happened – and then it was wiped out as they shut down the pits. So we wanted to talk about the community and the family as much as Billy in the musical. The strike bookends the show. The theater lends itself to big, working-class anthems of struggle and loss. You can present that in a much more believable and moving way onstage than on film.”  

“The Stars Look Down” spoke of the emotion of a community facing the loss of everything that defined them. We are brought to the poignant “We’d Go Dancing,” where memories are better than reality in the time of change. As the town demands loyalty to the union, the anger that energizes the strike in “Solidarity” is fierce and in your face. In a community that embraces the harsh, overbearing male role model, with furtive excitement, two boys explore cross dressing in “Expressing Yourself.” Our young star, Billy, shows his sensitivity and heartache of losing his “mum” in “Dear Billy”and his rebellion against his father’s demand that he give up dancing in “Angry Dance." 

The first act made me squirm, yet I was amazed at the talent of Billy played by Ty Forhan. That young man was on the stage most of the time. His every move was portraying the character and emotion of the scene in which he played. His dancing was amazing for one so young. It was fun to see the way Billy’s character was formed through the choreography. From the stressed beginner in over his head at his first dance class, to the passionate dancer at the end, the development of his character shined through. 

Act II begins with “Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher,” a rebellion against authority, sung with much profanity and many finger gestures against her rule. Rich Hebert was solid in creating the scene “Deep Into the Ground” and “He Could Go and He Could Shine” as he portrayed a man who learns a heart of understanding towards his son. The choreography was interestingly masculine for the “non dancer” characters. I had never thought of drunken stumbling as a form for choreography. The story of the journey from the beginnings of the British National Union of Mineworkers strike, to the anguish and remorse of becoming a “scab” in order to provide for his boy, was very well told.  

While it was painful to watch the anger and ridicule of his family not accepting Billy’s desire to dance, I was relieved to see the resolution in the second act of Dad deciding to support Billy in his passion. The music defined the emotion of the story. The choreography demonstrated the characters and the story line. Overall, it was an interesting view of community and a family struggling with change.

Billy Elliot is All Kinds of Dance

Billy Elliot the Musical is a glorious celebration of dance – all kinds of dance.

Yes, it’s the story of a young boy who aspires to a career in ballet, which is why people are often surprised to discover the broad movement palette utilized by choreographer Peter Darling. The choreography encompasses tap, hip hop, jazz, acrobatics, and folk dancing; even a pedestrian activity such as walking – no pun intended – is used as a form of expression.  

That diversity was very deliberate. “I didn’t want to convey the notion that only one form of movement is of value,” says Darling. “I wanted to use as many different forms of movement as possible. We’re celebrating dance; dance is worthy of celebration and all forms of dance can tell a narrative. Ballet can tell a narrative. Tap can tell a narrative.”

           

Tap fuels the show at least as much as, if not more than, ballet. “Tap is rhythmically exciting and such an expressive kind of dance,” says Darling. “At the same time, it’s synonymous with show business and musicals. And Billy Elliot is very much a musical; it’s not a ballet.”

In most musicals, tap is a rapturous articulation of joy. Often, its raison d’etre is nothing more – or less – than to entertain the audience. That kind of tap exists in Billy Elliot, most notably in the exuberant finale. But Darling also uses tap in a dark and powerful way in the “Angry Dance,” Billy’s response when his father orders him to give up ballet.

            

“Tap actually lends itself extremely well to anger,” says Darling. “The ‘Angry Dance,’ in a way, is about Billy wanting to stop dancing. But the rhythm in his head keeps on going. If you want to stop your feet from moving, you slam them to the floor. So that’s where the idea came from: Billy would slam his feet to the floor, and there would be a rhythmic element to it. And it went from there.”

The dances in Billy Elliot either advance the narrative or reveal something about the characters. “Born to Boogie” takes place after Mrs. Wilkinson, Billy’s teacher, reads a letter from the boy’s dead mother. Rather than launch into a ballet, Darling upends expectations with a jazzy number. “When you study ballet, it’s non-stop classes,” he says. “It almost feels like wearing a straitjacket. When Billy gets upset by the letter, Mrs. Wilkinson decides to give him a present, to cheer him up. Instead of saying, ‘We’re going to do 24,000 tendus again,’ she says, ‘OK, let’s have some fun. Let me find out how you move.’ So Billy starts to do Michael Jackson moonwalking, and she starts to do a few old steps. It’s a conversation, a fun dance, which is what jazz is.” 

             

Darling infused the ballet choreography with contemporary movement, steps that would be anathema to traditional classical dance. When Billy auditions for The Royal Ballet in the number “Electricity,” the ballet he performs includes street dance, hip hop and acrobatics. “The idea is that The Royal Ballet is looking for young dancers with potential, who are phenomenal movers,” says Darling. “And Billy shows that he’s a phenomenal mover who can also turn three pirouettes.” That number, more than any other in the show, underscores the beauty and vitality of ballet. “Ballet can be one of the most thrilling things you’ll ever see, because of the amount of training, technique, and strength required to do it. The training enables the body to do things that are phenomenally difficult. You’re able to travel through the air. It’s got a great freedom to it.”

Billy Elliot the Musical runs Tuesday, June 19 - Sunday, June 24, 2012 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton. Great seats are still available! Visit foxcitiespac.com for details!

Content Disclaimer: Billy Elliot the Musical contains profane language and some scenes of confrontation between police officers and minors.

 © 2010 Billy National Tour II LP.

Broadway Buzz: What’s Not to Love About the Tony Awards?

The 2012 Tony Awards® aired nationwide last night on CBS, bringing Broadway to your living room for one night only.

To start the evening, the show opened with a special “Hello” from the cast of The Book of Mormon, which won Best Musical in 2011. Neil Patrick Harris returned as host for the third time, introducing featured performances, special star appearances and, of course, the awards for Broadway’s biggest accomplishments this season. Once walked away with eight awards including Best Musical, and Peter and the Starcatcher, a prequel to the Peter Pan story took home five awards. With all that and more, what’s not to love?

In case you missed the 2012 Tony Awards, you can...

• Watch the full broadcast for a limited time on cbs.com – all 140 minutes of Broadway’s best

• Hear the acceptance speeches on TonyAwards.com. Be sure to check out a few of our favorites – Audra McDonald (Best Actress – Musical), Steve Kazee (Best Actor – Musical) and Nina Arianda (Best Actress – Play).

• Read all about it in The New York Times at nytimes.com!

Did you tune in to the Tonys? Tell us your favorite moments and which shows you hope will head out on tour next season.

Broadway Buzz: Tune in to the Tony Awards This Sunday

This Sunday, June 10 Broadway is taking the stage in your living room for the 2012 Tony Awards®.

Neil Patrick Harris returns to host a show packed with performances. Watch for songs from Best Musical nominees like Once, Newsies, Nice Work If You Can Get It and Leap of Faith. 

Tune in to CBS at 7:00 p.m. to catch a glimpse of your favorite Broadway stars and Hollywood crossovers, and watch for new shows that may hit the road and find their way to the Fox Cities P.A.C. 

  

Which shows do you hope will win?

Making of a Musical: Billy Elliot from Screen to Stage

Following the premiere of "Billy Elliot" at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, a sobbing Elton John, who by chance happened to be at the screening, had to be helped from the theater.

“It touched me so much,” he said. “The story is very similar to mine: Trying to be something out of the ordinary. Having a talent and wanting to break free from what your parents want you to do. Wanting approval from your father, especially when your father doesn’t approve of the profession you’ve chosen.”

Billy Elliot is the story of an adolescent who discovers he has a talent and passion for ballet, and pursues it despite the vehement objections of his father and the derision of his community, a coal-mining village in Northern England. Intertwined with Billy’s journey is the unfolding of the 1984 coal miners’ strike in Great Britain, an event so devastating that the repercussions are still felt to this day.

John was so moved and so inspired by the movie that he immediately envisioned the piece as a stage musical. Neither director Stephen Daldry, nor screenwriter Lee Hall, initially shared his enthusiasm, but John changed their minds.

“What Elton felt was very personal to him, and he understood the story from the inside,” Hall said. “One of my big concerns was to keep an emotional core. I also realized there was a tradition of musical theater that completely embraced all the things Billy Elliot is about. Going back as far as Show Boat, musicals have dealt with issues and politics. So I realized that the music from the mining communities – the folk songs, the hymnal singing – could provide a kind of soundtrack for this show.”

           

The musical puts a greater emphasis on the plight of the miners than there is in the film.

“What appealed to me most about doing the show was to have the opportunity to delve into the miners’ strike,” Daldry said. “That strike was one of the most important events in my life, as well as in domestic village politics. It’s not possible to exaggerate the cultural flowering that happened during that year in the pit villages. There was a real shift in consciousness for everybody involved in those villages, which is part of the sadness of the whole story. Because something extraordinary happened – and then it was wiped out as they shut down the pits. So we wanted to talk about the community and the family as much as Billy in the musical. The strike bookends the show. The theater lends itself to big, working-class anthems of struggle and loss. You can present that in a much more believable and moving way onstage than on film.” 

The two strands of the narrative are so thoroughly integrated in the show that, in the end, each story is incomplete without the other. But making the miners more prominent posed a special challenge for choreographer Peter Darling: How could he create dances for characters who were so opposed to dance?

“You want to include them in the dances, because a musical can encompass a wider community,” Darling said. “But they make fun of dance, so how was this going to work? I started to think about when men dance. They do social dancing and folk dancing. So that’s where I started. And I believe that all human movement – walking, running, jumping and falling – is dance. If someone corrals it and gives it form, before you know it, it’s dance.”

           

Since opening in London in 2005, Billy Elliot the Musical has become an international phenomenon, the recipient of more than 70 awards. In 2009 the show won 10 Tony Awards, including best musical; Daldry won for best direction of a musical, Hall for book of a musical, and Darling for choreography.

“You can’t just look at Billy Elliot as a piece of theater,” Hall said, “because it actually transforms the lives of these boys. If there had been no Billy Elliot, if these boys had not been discovered for the role, then they would not have flourished in the way that they do. Their growth is almost a symbol, a metaphor at the heart of the piece. We actually demonstrate that it is possible, if everyone pulls together, to achieve something quite extraordinary.”

Billy Elliot the Musical will play June 19-24, 2012 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit foxcitiespac.com!

Content Disclaimer: Billy Elliot the Musical contains profane language and some scenes of confrontation between police officers and minors.

 

© 2010 Billy National Tour II LP.