Seacoast Rep Delivers Heartfelt ‘Billy Eliot’

‘Billy Eliot’ – Directed and Choreographed by Rachel Bertone; Musical Direction by Kathleen Castellanos; Scenic and Costume Design by The Mad Men of Oopsy Daisy; Sound Design by Andrew Cameron; Lighting Design by Michael Wingate Seavey; Properties Design by Kate Dugan. Presented by Seacoast Repertory Theatre at 125 Bow St, Portsmouth, NH through March 9

By Linda Chin

Set in a small town in northern England circa 1984, Billy Elliot is the story of a working class boy who wants to be a ballet dancer. His mum’s dead, his family is still grieving, and the community is being torn apart by a miners’ strike, the most bitter industrial dispute in British history. The story explores themes that include labor rights, homophobia, gender stereotypes and class struggles. I was fortunate to see the show in London’s West End, and since it crossed the Atlantic a decade ago, I’ve seen so many performances (over 100?) – on Broadway, the first national tour in Chicago, Broadway in Boston, revivals at professional regional and community theaters in New England (including Wheelock, Palace, North Shore, Ogunquit, Marblehead, Company) – that I’ve lost count.

I can, however, recount in great detail the different ways each production was wonderful (or to a lesser degree, disappointing), and can compare and contrast and critique with some credibility. It’s interesting to see how each producing company translates the high-tech elements used on Broadway – the larger than life Maggie Thatcher puppet! 15 foot tall dancing dresses! Flying Billy! Billy’s bedroom rising on a pneumatic lift! The magnificent mirrored curtain of the Royal Ballet School! – to fit their venue and budget. Many have argued (me included) that these elements didn’t necessarily serve to advance the storytelling but to appeal to expectations of what makes a Broadway blockbuster most marketable. It’s intriguing to see how each director re-envisions the production to bring out its humanity, and each musical director tweaks the score to accommodate a smaller orchestra or the actors’ vocal ranges (especially important with the adolescent boys), and each choreographer uses dance to drive a story – especially a story about dance – forward. And it’s always inspiring to see how the audience responds.

Kudos to Seacoast Repertory Theater executive director Kathleen Cavalaro and interim artistic director Jamie Bradley for choosing Billy Elliot the Musical as the first mainstage show of 2019. I hadn’t been to Portsmouth in over a decade, and driving past colossal mountains of salt and chef-owned restaurants serving artisanal small plates I couldn’t help but make the connection to Billy’s small mining town undergoing change. The theater is located right in the heart of town, and being so warmly greeted upon entering the cheerful lobby made me feel optimistic about the power of the arts to create community and belonging. Seacoast’s mainstage theater is a beautiful multi-height space with massive exposed wooden beams lining the cathedral ceiling, a thrust stage surrounded by stadium seating on three sides. For a show like Billy Elliot, the audience is raked perfectly; if you are lucky enough to be up high you can see the actors’ facial expressions as well as the topography of the dance formations, and if you are sitting in the front rows you are literally on eye level with the actors, practically sitting in the Elliot family kitchen.

Musical theatre requires many different skill sets and is, in my opinion, not only the most collaborative theatre genre but most collaborative art form. With director and choreographer Rachel Bertone and musical director Kathleen Castellanos at the helm, the artistic elements are aligned, the set, lighting and sound support the mood, and scene changes are executed seamlessly. Bertone’s skills as a director and choreographer (and ballet dancer herself) who is passionate about musical theatre and building community are evident throughout this production.

It doesn’t matter if they’re large or small, the musical numbers are all expertly staged and lovingly executed by the ensemble of adults and children. “Shine”, featuring Billy, a gaggle of girls, dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson, and accompanist Mr. Braithwaite is a “show-within-a-show” and is staged front and center, proscenium-style. “For Solidarity” (with ballet girls weaving in between striking miners and police) and “Angry Dance” (with Billy in tap shoes and the police donning riot gear) Bertone creates lines along all four sides of the perimeter and spirographic designs in the full stage area within. Audience members have the experience of not just watching the ensemble perform but being fully immersed in the action.

The duets, which partner Billy and his cross-dressing best-friend Michael, Grandma with a past love, and Billy and his older self are lovely, and capture the chemistry in each pair’s relationship. Billy does not fly in this production but when he is lifted overhead his arms spread wide like a bird in flight he seems to reach the rafters, another smart choice in this space. For the musical numbers sans dance, Bertone also creates stage pictures with a director-choreographer’s eye. The Letter, sung by Billy, his dead mum and Mrs. Wilkinson, is often staged with the three characters standing in a triangle at some distance from each other. Bertone keeps the three close together, and the harmonious effect pulls at your heartstrings.

My litmus test is the scene that I think most explains the story’s meaning: the Royal Ballet School after Billy’s audition. Alone on the mostly darkened stage, Billy and his dad are asked by an intimidating offstage voice in King’s English to please take a seat to answer a few questions. Squirming uncomfortably on two small wooden chairs as if in the school principal’s office, the panelist asks Billy why he first became interested in the ballet, and Mr. Elliot if he is a balletomane (an enthusiast/devotee/fan of the ballet. Then she states “a child can only succeed with 100% support of his family. You are completely behind Billy, are you not?” When Jackie Elliot (poignantly portrayed by Todd Yard) responds, he says yes, hesitantly at first, then with more emphasis. He is not only voicing his support out loud to the judge for the first time, but to Billy and to himself. He then drapes his arm on the back of Billy’s chair with such tenderness that I let out an audible gasp. Yard, who also recently played the father of a young artist in Speakeasy’s Fun Home, sears the message of standing behind your kid onto your soul.

Billy Elliot also reminds us that being accepted for who you are, and truly being seen, can go a long way. Billy’s community pooled their 50p to cover the expenses of traveling to London. In the audition room Billy carries his dead mum’s unconditional love and the interviewer mentions “a very enthusiastic letter from a Mrs. Wilkinson.” Yet it is the additional jolt of support from Billy’s father, that drives Billy (a very talented 13-year old Liam Redford who has performed the role twice before) to deliver an exceptional rendition of Electricity.

Bertone is known for supporting artists in doing their best work, and many actors traveled to be part of this company. Liam, Burke Brickner, who plays Michael, and Hunter Wayne Foster, who plays Older Billy hail from NY, and many are from the Boston area. It was a treat to see actors who I’ve seen on Boston stages in featured roles in this show. Meryl Galaid showed her dramatic range, comedic timing and singing and dancing chops as Grandma and Andrea Lyons, who I’ve seen in the chorus in Reagle’s Carousel and Moonbox’s Barnum (both directed and choreographed by Bertone) slays as Mrs. Wilkinson. Lyons’ singing voice, dancing and dialect were stunning, and she is a NH resident and Seacoast resident artist so local audiences will likely see her again. And shout outs to the unsung heroes – the producers/parents/guardians/adult actors for going the distance in supporting young artists (Liam, Burke, small/posh boy Wade Turner, tall boy Lila Bregy, Grace Olah as Debbie, and ballet girls Maggie Hamel, Penelope Johnson, Ella Luke, Anabel Moda, Erica Parks, Margot Anderson-Song) in following their dreams. Billy Elliot runs through March 9. It’s worth the drive, and I also highly recommend experiencing the culinary artistry of James Beard Best Chef, Northeast Matt Louis at his restaurant Moxy, right down the street from the theater. If you are not one already, this production may make you a balletomane, a BillyElliotomane, and Bertoneomane, and a Seacoast Repertory season subscriber. For more information, go to: https://seacoastrep.org/