Billy Elliot: A Touch of Class

by Mary Jo

Since New York City is the center of American publishing, writers' conferences rotate there regularly.  And one thing I learned several NYC conferences back is that if I’m there, I’d be crazy to miss the chance to go to a live Broadway show. 

“Live” is the key.  Being present in the same space, breathing the same air as the performers, makes a huge difference in one’s experience of a production. 

So at the June RWA conference, my roommate and I went to see Billy Elliot on the last night of the conference.  It was a fabulous experience—and I’ve been trying to figure out how to blog about it ever since.

That’s because there are several major layers, all of which are complex and way above my knowledge base.  Yet because I loved the show, I'm going to attempt a once over lightly on the issues of performance, class, politics, and the north/south divide.

The Performance, Part 1:

On one level, this is the first time I’ve seen a stage show based on a movie I’d already seen, so comparing the different forms of expression was interesting.  I remember the movie as very good—but the musical blew me away.

Briefly, the movie is the story of an 11 year old miner’s son in Northern England who stumbles across the girls’ ballet class when he is gloomily taking boxing lessons—and discovers a completely unexpected passion and talent for ballet dancing.  His passion is inexplicable to those around him and makes people assume he’s a “poof.”  (Which he isn’t, though he has a friend who is.)

Billy’s struggle to realize an impossible dream is set against the backdrop of the 1984-85 coal miners' strike, which gives a whole layer of political subtext to the story.  The movie came out in 2000, not all that long ago, but oddly, I don’t really remember the political background of the movie.  Whereas in the stage show, the politics are fierce and unforgettable. 

Politics:

When I was asking around about what might be a good show to see, I got very different reactions from two of my writer friends.  One, an American, said it was terrific and entertaining.  The other, Northern English by birth and Australian by immigration, said she found it very sad.

Which takes us back to the miners’ strike.  The bitter strike ended with Margaret Thatcher’s government breaking the powerful miners’ union, and ultimately the whole, huge British coal mining industry.  Much of that industry was in the north, which is why my Anglo-Aussie friend found the show painful.  Communities, pride, and independence were broken. 

The strike and its aftermath were one act of the long running drama of industrial and economic change that we’re still experiencing.  Jobs vs. efficiency.  Tradition vs. “progress.”  Community foundation vs. maximizing profits.  Change wasn’t easy during the Industrial Revolution, and it isn’t easy with the Digital Resolution. 

Another northern English born friend looks on the strike as a tragedy which wasn’t a matter of one side being right, the other wrong.  Both sides made mistakes.  She said that if the union had been less intransigent, they might have been able to reach a better settlement. 

But that didn’t happen.  Coal had powered the industrial revolution and been a major employer in the north for hundreds of years.  Now, I understand, the coal minining industry has gone from employing over 300,000 people to under a thousand.  Almost all of the coal Britain uses is imported. 

North vs. South:

This brings me to the issue of regionalism in the UK.  Northern and Southern England have very different vibes, with the well groomed south the home of stockbrokers and stiff upper lips and cute little thatched Agatha Christie cottages, while the north is grittier, more working class, friendlier, and more down to earth. 

The south is probably more Anglo-Saxon, the north has more Viking and Celtic influences.  (I speak as an American who lived in England for a couple of years.  I learned about the differences in north and south without having the visceral understanding that a Briton would.) 

Class:

On another level, the division of north and south is an expression of class—one of the great and enduring issues of British life.  Accents, neckties, vocabulary all become ways of judging the class and status of others.  British novelist Nancy Mitford, daughter of a lord, famously wrote an article  about U (Upper class) and Non-U language.  A conversation can be full of little tests by which your origins are revealed.

Class shows up in all sorts of British creative work.  It’s a big issue in Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels, where illegitimate Yorkshire born Richard Sharpe is always having to contend with arrogant upper class twits who haven't an iota of his military skill.  Carola Dunn and Anne Perry have both written mystery series where a well-born woman marries a middle class detective, and the class differences become part of their sleuthing techniques.  The list of books that have such issues as part of their warp and woof goes on and  on.

Perhaps all nations have a primal, enduring issue.  In the US, it’s race, and I’ve read that in Germany it’s dealing with the legacy of WWII.  When I lived in (southern) England, I took satisfaction from being an American and hence outside the British class structure. 

The Performance, Part 2:

Sir Elton John was the driving force behind turning the movie into a musical.  He’s not from the north, but he was raised in public housing in the London area, and I’m guessing the story of working class pride and pain spoke to him.  So—the music is by Elton John.  'Nuff said.  The dancing is intense—in the Broadway production, three different boys rotated in the lead role of Billy because it’s so demanding. 

 
The plots of movie and musical are pretty much identical, I believe, but the emotionalism of the live show made the musical more powerful for me.  For example, there is a scene called the “Angry Dance” which takes place when Billy finds he won’t be able to audition for the Royal Ballet. 

The dance is fierce and desperate and angular.  Billy hurls himself about the stage while a line of police protected by plastic riot shields smash their way forward, ignoring the boy’s rage.  Bang! Bang! BANG!!!

Throughout, there’s a theme of solidarity.  At the beginning, the miners are excited and ready to go out, just bursting with fellowship and confidence.  By the end, they’re broken in spirit, but still together.  There’s a wonderful number called “Once We Were Kings” that showcases a marvelous male chorus of powerful voices, and ends with the miners sinking into the ground on a lift with smoke swirling around them as they sing “and we’ll all go together when we go.”  (The clip is a sung version without the staging—but well worth listening to.)  It's a powerful metaphor for the end of an industry and a way of life.

At the end, Billy goes off alone to study in London, a stark shadow in the spotlight.  He’s escaping to a broader life, but it’s separating him from everything he’s ever known. 

I love the ending of the movie, which shows Billy when he’s achieved his dream, and it's implied that he has made peace with his past and present.  The strike and its results aren't the center of the story--Billy's dreams are.  But the strike lends haunting power to the story.

The musical won a ton of awards in London, Broadway (10 Tony awards!) and Australia, and I heartily recommend you see it if you have a chance.  Because there is really something about live theater…

 
What about you?  Have you seen shows that are indelibly etched in your mind?  (Riverdance is another that moved me tremendously.)  What have you seen and loved?  Or what would you like to see?

Mary Jo, tapping foot and clapping hands

 

Comments

[Ranurgis]

I've been wanting to see this show since there was first a young Canadian playing one of the Billys on Broadway. Unfortunately, I'm not always up on what is available in our London (ON). Most of the time we have to go to Toronto to see the "big" shows. If they ever come here, they're on for one or two nights only and sold out before I even get to hear about them.

I've seen only two mega-shows. One was the Phantom of the Opera which I saw in Toronto. The bosses at the construction co. for which I did the accounting were taking all the guys to Detroit for an NFL game. I wouldn't have been disinclined to see a football game--but not in the company of about a dozen guys, some of whom were a little less than "couth."

So they gave me the money to go see a show in Toronto and chose Phantom of the Opera. It was an enjoyable show but certainly not half as gripping as the only other big show I've had a chance to see.

I was invited to go with my one sister-in-law's mother, sisters and my mother to see Les Miserables in Toronto. What a show! I loved it and watch it again whenever I have a chance. I saw it this spring on PBS and got the DVD version of the anniversary show in London UK.

But I also wanted to get the French version which is not really like the English one. While I was at the 1999 Romantic Times Convention in Toronto, I was finally able to find it at the French bookshop for about twice the price of the English version. I don't really know how much it differed in that version. I only played it once or twice. I had to go to my brother's a few days after I returned from the RTC. I thought that I'd take the CD to his house since his children were in French immersion schools. There was nobody at the door so I took it in, put it on their entrance table and just called out to tell them about it. I've been kicking myself ever since. I've been told flat out that I must have dreamt that because "no one ever saw the CD." Either my youngest niece took it to school without telling anyone and it stayed at school, or someone just came in like I did and stole it. I've been trying to find another copy ever since

I've kept asking in stores but haven't been able to find it again. So if anyone hears about the French original, non-Cameron version of it, I'd love to hear from you. Or you could get it for me and I'd pay you whatever you had to pay plus shipping, of course.

Maybe one of these days I'll get a chance to see another big show. I've only seen Riverdance on TV or DVD. I'd love to see that in the original show as well. And oh yes, I saw South Pacific at the Winnipeg Summer Stage when I was still a teen. I'm just listening to music from the ballet Les Sylphides. Well, I saw that in Stuttgart, Germany, performed by the National Ballet of Canada, no less. I had season tickets to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and saw as many performances I could get into at the Stuttgart Ballet. I could get tickets for 5 DM for tickets that weren't sold or not picked up by a certain time. It was a marvelous experience. My favorite there was John Cranko's version of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. Just fabulous. I don't know how often I saw it.

Enough said.

[Isobel Carr]

Makes me think of the book/film NORTH & SOUTH. This dichotomy was spelled out there in a way I'd never quite grasped before.

And I’m with you about the joy of a live show. I try to make it to a few each year when they come through San Francisco (still mad that I was out of the country when Avenue Q came through!).

[LouisaCornell]

This show is on my bucket list of shows to see! The theme is very near to my heart as my father's family, coal miners, immigrated from England and Wales in 1892 to mine coal in Pennsylvania. My great great grandfather, Griffin Hughes, died in a mining accident in Nanticoke at 32 and left his wife with nine children to raise.

I've saw an amazing performance of Phantom of the Opera in Atlanta years ago. And I saw the entire Ring in Bayreuth, which by the end, I was on a sensory overload I still remember to this day. Incredible experience.

I've seen and performed countless operas, but I've also done musical theatre as well. A truly bad experience with the musical Oklahoma (Curly was tone deaf) makes me shudder to even think of hearing it and I won't sing it again, not even at gunpoint!

[Susan/DC]

I've said it many times, but the play that consistently moves me, makes me think, makes me laugh, and breaks my heart is Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia". I've now seen it three times, and each time I discover something new or am reminded of why I love it so much. The play takes place on the country estate of an earl, with half set in the Regency and half set now. If I ruled the world and could finance a production with my ideal cast, Kate Winslet would play Hannah Jarvis and Mia Wasikowska would play Thomasina Coverley.

I love movies, but I agree with MJ that there is something special about seeing a play in the theater. Perhaps it is that the energy and charisma are so direct, or perhaps it is that the things on stage have an added dimension of reality (that 3-D versus 2-D thing without the special glasses). I can't necessarily explain why it is so, but I do think it is.

@Louisa Cornell: My sympathy for your experience with "Oklahoma". Did you ever see the version with Hugh Jackman as Curly? He might be able to change your mind. The Arena Stage in Washington DC currently has a production that has garnered huge raves, both from the critics and the people I know who've seen it. My cousin and his partner see every (and I do mean every) Broadway show, but they came to DC to see "Oklahoma" and said it's one of the best things they've ever seen, truly special. I have tickets to see it next week, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

[Cynthia Owens]

Mary Jo, I've loved Broadway shows since I was in high school and our drama club did a production of "West Side Story." We used to get a lot of touring productions here in Montreal, but sadly, they've taken the (Highway)401 and now they mostly play Toronto. I did see "Camelot" (with Richard Harris!), "South Pacific" (with Robert Goulet!), and Singin' in the Rain, and enjoyed them all immensely. I loved "Phantom of the Opera" - I always saw the Phantom as the ultimate tortured hero - and saw the English version of "Les Miserables," which moved me to tears. I saw "Carousel" on Broadway a few years ago, and again left the theatre in floods of tears. I'd love to see "Riverdance" - well, anything with Irish history is great with me. I saw "Lord of the Dance" last April, and absolutely adored it.

I need some more live performances!

[Eileen Dreyer]

First, the backdrop to Billy Elliott. For more of the sense of that time, Billy Elliott is one of a kind of trilogy that speaks to the end of the industry and its impact. The other two are Brassed Off and The Full Monty, which both make me laugh, but make me cry.

As for Broadway, it was a Broadway show that opened my eyes to the wonder of history. I'd been plodding along like everyone else reciting 1066 Battle of Hastings,1215 Magna Carta, yada yada yada when I got go to New York on my senior trip, and there, magic happened. I saw the original cast in the musical 1776. John Adams will forever to me be William Daniels, and suddenly, as he sang Is Anybody There, I understood the desperate passion this man had to change the world. If there had been no other character on stage, I would have been compelled to know more about the complexities, the contradictions and compromises that made up the real Founding Fathers. And I will never, as long as I live, forget the dark lesson of John Collum perched atop a table chastising his fellows with Molasses to Rum to Slaves.

I've been privileged to see many shows. But that one changed my life.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Ranurgis--

You've seen a wonderful variety of live performances! THere are good, entertaining shows, and now and then, there are GREAT shows that knock one's socks off.

Have you tried googling to find a DVD of the French version of Les Miz? I gave it a shot and did get some hits, though I'm not sure any were what you were looking for. If you play with the search terms and give more specific data, you might be able to find a copy. Good luck!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Isobel--

I've never seen the TV North & South series, but it sounds very good. There's really a split in sensibilities, and a friend of mine who is English but lived in the colonies for years before returning home said that the separation is great now than when she was young.

I'm guessing that San Francisco would get all the national road companies, which is the next best thing to Broadway. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Griffin Hughes--now THERE'S a Welsh name to conjure with, Louisa! With your family history of miners, it's definitely a must-see show.

Interestingly, I'm just finishing the proofing of my e-book edition of my coal mining book, THUNDER & ROSES, which will go up in the next week, and I was impressed by how much researching on coal mining I did for the book. *G*

While many of us have seen shows, few of us have appeared in them like. I can see where a tone deaf Curly would be off-putting, but Hugh Jackmanin the role could cure that very quickly!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Susan/DC--

Now I want to see ARCADIA. *g* I've heard the name, but didn't know what it was about.

Movies can do amazing things that no other medium can touch--but so can live performances. I think this is why community theater is active in so many places. People just love that live experience, both as performers and audience.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Cynthia--

I've seen Riverdance, you've seen Lord of the Dance. We're both really lucky! Celtic music gets me right on a DNA level (though actually I'm mostly English. But I do love Celtic music.)

[Mary Jo Putney]

Eileen--

Theater can be profoundly moving, but few people have such a powerful reaction as your developing a passion and understanding for history. Readers are grateful for your ephiphany. *g*

Now I want to see 1776 also!

[eastofeden]

I saw "Spring Awakening" last year with my 19 year old daughter. And we were both blown away. Based on Frank Wedekinds novel of the same name with an Indy Pop score written by Duncan Shiek. The story is coming of age and deals with issues that teens on the verge of adulthood deal with (sexuality, pressure from parents etc) as they determine who they are. A bit heavy and depressing (As if you would expect less from a piece based on an 19th century German novel) since forced abortion and suicide are the climax of the story. That said you walk away with hope too...

Not a show for everyone. Noticed that the older couple sitting next to us did not return after the intermission. But it spoke to me as a parent as much as it spoke to my college aged daughter.

[LouisaCornell]

Mary Jo,

I actually read Thunder and Roses for the first time a few months ago and I absolutely loved it! Don't know how I missed it the first time around as I've been collecting your books since The Rake and the Reformer. (SIGH!)

After so many recommendations, I simply must order the DVD of Oklahoma with Hugh Jackman. Found it on Amazon after reading everyone's recommendation. The production I was in truly was a nightmare for the rest of us. And the young man who played Curly was gorgeous to look at and he really tried hard, but SHUDDER!

I had a ball doing a musical version of Sleeping Beauty because I got to play a truly ditzy Fairy Godmother.

And Eileen, it is a good thing you write such wonderful books! I would have to pummel you for seeing 1776 with William Daniels live! I saw the film version and when I taught high school American History I made my students watch it. The musical got their attention and it made the Founding Fathers real to them. When I explained what they were risking when they signed the Declaration of Independence and they saw the movie they never failed to be in awe of these "dull old history guys."

[Mary Jo Putney]

Eastofeden, I see why SPRING AWAKENING wouldn't be for everyone, but I can also see the power and relevance it had for you and your daughter. I think at its best, live theater has a power that's hard to match.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Louisa, I can imagine the fun of being ditzy fairy godmother! A great idea to use the film of 1776 to teach American history. Seeing live action is more vivid than reading history texts for sure. Those "dull old history guys" were a pretty amazing lot!

[J Prince]

Having been a volunteer for two local community theaters for several years, I have seen lots of live performances. The ones that impressed me the most were 1) my first Broadway show - Evita. I came home and bought the album and my two teen-aged daughters and I listened to it every night during dinner until we could sing along with most of the songs. 2) Les Miz - a touring company - still the only show that I absolutely love each and every song. Both shows are history based and that's probably why I'm so crazy about them.

[J Prince]

By the way, if you are wishing you could go to a Broadway show or waiting for touring shows to come to you town, don't turn your nose up at community theater. I am constantly amazed at the amount of talent in our local productions.

[Mary Jo Putney]

JPrince--

You are so right about community theater. There are so many people with a passion for theater, and with real talent, who devote huge quantities of time and effort to putting together shows, and the results are often very, very good. Well worth checking out in one's community.

[Annrei]

Growing up in New York, my parents took me to the theater a lot as a kid. There really is nothing like it. I saw Beauty and the Beast, Ragtime (which was amazing!), Titanic, Aida...

I went to a college with a huge theater program, so there was always a play or a musical to see. I began to connect to the power of the performances more and felt the passion of the performers and the stories. You can't pause a live performance, so one is forced to pay attention. It's immediate.

My favorite musical of all time is Rent. I listen to the soundtrack a lot--it's so moving and a bit sad, but hopeful and optimistic in the end.

Now, for my friends and I, it's all about rush tickets, which are cheaper. We know how lucky we are to have all those shows near us for long periods of time.

[Janice]

My favorite stage musicals are Pajama Game, Kiss Me Kate and The Music Man, which I saw as a kid with my mom at the old Philharmonic Auditorium in downtown LA. I've seen the movies made from them, and they're better than nothing, I suppose, but they're much watered down from the funny, fresh and sassy stage versions. We were more or less broke all the time in those days, but I'm glad my mom found the money so we could see them. I've seen lots of stage musicals since, but nothing with the quality of the music, lyrics and book of those three.

If the North & South book/film mentioned is the Elizabeth Gaskell, you should definitely check out the BBC dramatization with Richard Armitage, if only for the eye candy :)

[Susan]

I love going to the theatre! I've been to London twice so far in my life and both times I went to see plays. I've seen Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar (my favorite musical ever), and I even got to see Pygmalion with Peter O'Toole!

Here at home I've gone to plays and musicals as well.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Janice--I really do need to check into NORTH & SOUTH. One can never have too much eye candy. *g*

Susan, I saw Jesus Christ, Superstar in London, and it was terrific--but I might swap it for the chance eto see Peter O'Tool as Henry Higgins!

[Mary Jo Putney]

How fabulous, Annrei! Not only do you have this great resource on your doorstep, but you truly appreciate it. I came much later to the pleasures of theater. But--I have gotten there. *g*

[Sean Patrick Brennan]

Thank you for a wonderful review, and I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the show so much! Like you, I loved the original movie, which had so much emotion packed into a really inspiring story.

When I heard they were making a musical, I was thrilled. It sounded like a really great vehicle to transform into live theatre! It opened in London in the spring of 2005, and to my delight, I learned I'd be in the London area in the spring of 2007 for a wedding. I just had to buy tickets to see the show while I was there.

Wow! Just wow! I was blown away by it, literally paralyzed with emotion by the end of the first half and couldn't speak for a couple of minutes. And by the close of the show I knew I had just witnessed the single greatest show I'd ever seen.

Then the reality hit me. I'd be going back to New York where there was no show. There wouldn't be a Billy Elliot on Broadway for another 16 months, which is an eternity for a theatre lover in love with a particular show. =)

Needless to say, when the First Preview arrived, I was there. The Broadway show was all the magnificence I remembered from London, and my favorite musical was just minutes away.

Would you believe I have now seen the show 34 times! It just touches on so many emotions, makes you laugh hysterically, cry enough to need tissues, and even recoil in your seat at the intensity of the anger acted out on stage. It's just a phenomenal show!

Anyway, just felt compelled to respond and share my experience with this special show. If you or anyone else would ever like to "talk Billy", say hi anytime. There's also a couple of cool fan sites I can let you know about.

Best wishes, and see you on Broadway again soon! =)

Sean

[Mary Jo Putney]

34 TIMES!!! Sean Patrick, I take off my metaphorical hat to you. I loved the show, but I'm the merest piker by comparison. *g*

As you say, it's a marvelous example of the visceral emotional power that live theater can have. The Swan Lake dream sequence!!!!! Just amazing.

I don't know if I'd want to see it 34 times. BUt I'd certainly love to see it again!