Billy Elliot

It's no secret that these are bleak times for Broadway. With rising ticket prices and dwindling tourism during New York's coldest months, a handful of shows will close in the coming weeks, with more sure to follow. For artists, as for the rest of the country, the world looks uncertain and perhaps even a little unfriendly. It seems fitting then, that a musical about the value of art set amidst poverty, instability, and social strife would be inspiring passion and hope in seemingly everyone who sees it.

The story is simple. Boy discovers art. Boy's family shuns art, hopes boy isn't a pansy (or since we're in industrial 80's England here, a "poof".) Boy secretly continues making art, and family finally realizes his incredible talent just in time to help him achieve success. A cursory glance may lead one to believe that the message is clear: be yourself, work hard, follow your dreams, and things will work out.

Those neat little lessons are certainly present in Billy Elliot, but there is also something deeper at work. Billy's family isn't just poor - they are the working class on strike, a part of the brutal 1984 Coal Miner's Strike, and they are fighting every day with everything they have. There is a scene close to the end of the play in which much of the town is present at a meeting, at their ropes end trying to put food on their tables and care for their families. They are desperate and exhausted, with no end in sight, and finding a way to send Billy on the expensive journey to London to audition for ballet school seems impossible. Then something incredible happens. One by one, these people who have next to nothing step forward from both sides of the picket line, each offering what little money they can, intent on giving Billy that one chance at his dream. Even in their darkest of times, there is an awareness that this child, an artist, is someone to be protected, respected, and encouraged. He, and his art, are important.

This tribute to the dreams of a young artist is at the heart of Billy Elliot, and it elevates the show from a dance spectacular to a cathartic theatrical experience. There is no doubt that it will inspire legions of young people, not just dancers but dreamers of all sorts, which is what Billy really is. Because of this, I can't think of a better show to recommend to just about anybody.

Just one thing is irritating about Billy Elliot: the possibility of what it could have been with a better score. As the spirited ensemble battles to inject fire into Elton John's ho-hum melodies, I couldn't help but wistfully imagine a soaring and expressive score by composers like Ahrens and Flaherty, or Adam Guettel. Even with some of the most awe-inspiring choreography I've ever seen, it's still a *musical*, and a mediocre score keeps this one just a hair short of truly transcendent.

Photo of David Alvarez and Haydn Gwynne by David Scheinmann.