Billy Elliot: Good In Whatever Country You See It

Back in 2007, when I attended a West End performance of Billy Elliot the Musical, a woman sitting next to meet at The Victoria asked whether Americans would appreciate the British humor and context of the musical when it arrived in the states. I indicated my appreciation, but I was an American in London, which would have suggested some brush with British culture. She raised a good question, something I’d wondered since hearing that the production would make its way to Broadway. Through its book and lyrics (Lee Hall), music (Elton John), the musical conveys a greater sense of the British class and culture out of which the story and Billy emerge than the film did. I wondered how a work with more background on the 1984 strike, which accelerated the death of the domestic mining industry, and jabs at Margaret Thatcher (“Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher. We all celebrate the day, because it’s one day closer to your death”) would fare with an American audience unfamiliar with the strike.

No such barriers were on display at the matinee performance I saw Feb. 7, 2009. Americans laugh out loud at the Maggie Thatcher putdowns and other British-isms and are in awe over the talent displayed by Kiril Kulish, the Billy for that performance, and all the other young performers ( Frank Dolce as Michael and all the girls are stars in their own right). Okay, some attempts at the regional British accent are uneven and move in and out, but the producers are to be commended for not snipping out jokes or references. People who want to know what a pasty is (a meat and potato pie) can read the glossary (“The Miner’s Strike 101”) in Playbill. The London performance has a glossary, too.

Of course, there are some people who just don’t get theatre no matter where it comes from. In the women’s restroom I overheard a woman complaining because she had hoped the musical would end as the movie does, with Billy making that awesome stage entrance for Swan Lake. Anyone looking for the stage version to end like the film probably needed to stay home, get some popcorn, and pop in the DVD. It would have been cheaper. I won’t spoil things for people who may want to see the musical –I didn't tell anyone about this scene after I saw the show in 2007 –so I’ll just say there's an older Billy in a brilliant scene. It moves the story along in a splendid way.

I don’t know if I was aware of this the first time I saw the musical, but many people, myself included, find themselves shedding a few tears at points in the performance. We owe some of that to Elton John’s stirring music. His Once We Were Kings, which is sung by the miners as they go down into the mine after losing the strike, can make you want to go march with them – or march with somebody –even as it all seems futile. We’re happy for Billy but know that part of his story is the devastated people he is leaving.