Tuesday night we went to see Billy Elliot, our first Broadway show in New York. The Broadway production of Billy Elliot opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York City on November 13, 2008. There's a ton of Broadway show options in this city but even before we moved here, we knew we wanted to see this production since I fell in love with the movie nine years ago. Then few months before we moved to New York, we saw a fantastic PBS documentary on the casting of Billy Elliot. Needless to say, this was the only Broadway show option for us (since we only had the budget to see one show this year).
Billy Elliot was more than phenomenal!!! It was one of the best three hours we've spent in this city. We can't imagine any other Broadway show being better than this. It was three hours of non-stop entertainment. The dancing, the acting, and the singing were perfect. The show was so exhilarating, so mesmerizing, so downright fun, that it was hard to keep still in your seats. Quite frankly, we just wanted to get out of our seats and dance (well, at least one of us did).
Every cast member did a spectacular job. The Billy Elliot character is rotated among three boys and our Billy Elliot was such an incredibly, talented kid. We recognized him from the documentary as soon as he hit the stage. It's easy to forget that he's just a kid. The staging and prop movements, scene changes, and lighting were also excellent. We won't give the ending away, but even the closing of the show was perfect. It's a show that literally moves you.
Unfortunately, you're not allowed to record the show but we're sure you can find some clips online. We were, however, able to sneak in a few photos of the Imperial Theater before the show began.
After seeing the show, you understand why Billy Elliot recently won 10 Tony Awards, including best musical. Elton John did an incredible job with the music. We recommend everyone to see this show. Billy Elliot will next be opening in 2010 in Chicago and in Seoul, Korea.
Too bad we couldn't stick around for another year. It looks like some interesting shows will be debuting soon.
After Billy Elliot ended a little past 10 PM, we hopped across the street to try the Junior's famous cheesecake (a later post). New York, New York!!!