London-Day 3: Billy Elliot

Best Valentine’s Day present ever!

Outside the Victoria Palace Theatre. I am beaming.

After resting at the hostel for about 40 minutes Brittany and I hopped on the tube to Victoria Station to see our prospective shows; I was going to see Billy Elliot, a gift from my parents for V-Day, and Brittany was going to see Wicked. It just turned out that the theatres that were right next to each other so it worked out perfectly.

It is every theatre lovers’ dream to see a West End show and I chose my first to be Billy Elliot because I heard it was amazing and I knew that it won the Tony. It did not disappoint. I always worry that I build the show so much in my head that it can never meet my expectations but it went far above them.

I got a great seat in the Victoria Palace Theatre (seat L31 in the stalls) and the theatre was pretty small and intimate. The show started and I laughed, I cried, I cheered. Here are some of the good memories.

• The dancing was so great and the actor who played Billy (Fox Jackson-Keen) used to be a gymnast and there were a lot of gymnastics in it which I enjoyed. He was just an adorable Billy.
• The little boy in the beginning looked at lot like Rodger Combs because he had a mop of white blond hair and was small.
• The audience was phenomenal. When the fake snow started falling everyone went “oooh.” They were really receptive. And the lady next to me was also crying, as well as much of the audience judging by the sniffles I heard.
• I loved the Michael I had (Jake Pratt) because he was kinda chubby and had glasses, and when he dressed up in drag it was so adorable. I loved the tap dancing with those silver shoes! Can you ever beat tap dancing? No.
• The little girls were also adorable. The girl who played Debbie (Emily Smith) did a great job. I love when the little girls dance with the grown men.
• Just the quality of the show was spectacular and I expected nothing less from the West End.
• The actress who played Mrs. Wilkinson was Joanna Riley and she was great as well. Everyone was great! I could watch it again right now.
• I did have a little problem understanding the dialects sometimes but no big deal.
• The music was so great and powerful. I love when they had different groups of people layered on top of each other. In the words of Liza at the Tonys, “Yay Elton!”
• At intermission “my parents bought me a t-shirt” as part of my Valentine’s Day present. I had a hard time deciding which one I wanted so I asked both the guy working the stand and the lady in line after me. I made a good choice and wear my “Billy Elliot London” shirt all the time with pride.

Inside the theatre. Sorry it's dark but I couldn't use a flash.

It was such a great experience and I just never want to forget it (hence the detailed blog entry.) It was everything I hoped it would be and I watched the story unfold in front of my like a kid at Disneyland, jaw dropping and eyes shining.

Adventures continue with London-Day 3: Photoshoot and French Fries