Born to Boogie
By Adam Hetrick
Hadyn Gwynne and Stephen Daldry photo by Carol Rosegg
Also making her Broadway debut will be Olivier nominee Haydn Gwynne, who originated the role of dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson in the show's London cast. "I suppose I always knew that there was a technical possibility that I might do it [on Broadway]," Gywnne says, "but to be honest, if I'd had to put money on it, I did not expect to come and do it… Although it's been talked about, and we thought it was probably-possibly-probably going to happen, it didn't become definite 'til recently. So, I can't quite believe I'm here to be honest."
Though she performed the role of Mrs. Wilkinson for 15 months in London, Gywnne has had a two-year absence from Billy Elliot and describes the challenges of returning to the role in a new production: "I've never come back to a role before. Quite a bit of it has changed. . . There will be new challenges for me because our very brilliant choreographer Peter Darling is changing a lot of the choreography to suit his new performers."
The new choreography includes a tap-based number incorporated to showcase the hoofing skills of Trent Kowalik. Though Gwynne is portraying his dance instructor, it looks like Billy may have a thing or two to teach her, Gwynne reveals. "I'm not a tap dancer," she says, "so I'm having to learn that from scratch, and I'm completely, completely terrified. I haven't got quite long to get some really big new stuff under my belt. So, I'm not sitting back on my laurels and thinking, 'Oh yeah I can do this, this is easy-peasy,' 'cause it isn't. This is really hard."
In addition to helping Billy discover his talents as a dancer, Mrs. Wilkinson also becomes a surrogate mother for the young boy. About playing opposite numerous Billys, Gwynne says, "I have children. I'm a mother to each of my boys, but there are differences. I can't describe what those differences are except that it's one of the nice things about the show. One of the challenges of doing eight shows a week is keeping it fresh, and by having different children and different Billys, there is variety within it. And that's a positive, no doubt, about it."
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Tony Award winner Carole Shelley will create the role of Billy's grandmother for the Broadway production. "She's just wonderful," Shelley says of her character. "I find that she's a very memorable part of Billy's life, and the song that I have to sing, my 'Grandma's Song,' is such a revealing portrait of this woman who adores Billy, was unhappily married for 33 years [and is] now a widow. [She] hated her husband. The only time they were happy was when they went dancing, when all the nasties would fall away and they would love each other for three hours."
When asked if she had been a fan of the 2000 film, Shelley quickly responds, "Oh God, yes. I've seen it many times; in fact, I think I have a copy of it." The actress had also attended the London production and recalls, "I came back and I said, 'I want to be in that. When they bring it to New York, I want to be in that.' So, I auditioned at the beginning of this year, and low and behold, I got it!"
One of Billy Elliot 's strengths is the musical's use of choreography to provide a means of expression and escape for its characters. Choreographer Peter Darling, who received an Olivier Award for his work, has incorporated traditional dances from Eastern and Russian folk dancing as well as clog and English morris dancing. Darling, who also choreographed the film's athletic dances, is currently at work putting the musical's young cast through the demanding choreography that has audiences jumping to their feet in London and Australia.
As challenging as the work may be for the cast, Darling is constantly refining and creating moments to showcase the skills of each new Billy. He remarks that most of the boys arrive "heavy in one discipline," perhaps street dancing or ballet dancing, and then must learn to incorporate the various styles and techniques employed in the show, including acrobatics.
"It's very hard on them," Darling says, "but I think one of the things that I always try and work from is [each boy's] strength — and then from that strength work outwards and always remind them, that whatever we do, we're always telling a story."
"It was an astonishing level of skill," Darling says of the New York auditions for Billy Elliot . For Broadway, Darling selected three boys who come from different dance backgrounds. "Kiril is what I term a ballet boy," Darling says, "but his training is very much in the Russian training, and so his inclination is toward much bigger movement, more tricks, as opposed to someone like David who trained at [American Ballet Theatre], and his technique suits a different kind of movement. You're always trying to make them look as good as you possibly can. Neither of them had ever tap danced in their life before, so that's been a huge challenge for them. Trent is an Irish step dancer, who has learned to become a ballet dancer and is trying to sort of adapt his technique to ballet, [which] is sort of a struggle."
Due to the rigors of the show and the fact that the Billys are always outgrowing the role, Darling and his team will begin casting replacements for the Broadway company in the next few weeks. However, it looks like there will be a long line of boys ready to dance their way onto the stage. "The thing that I feel proudest about," Darling says, "is that the Royal Ballet School in England is the only conservatoire in the world that has more boys than girls in their year intake, and they attribute that directly to Billy Elliot . Very few things you're involved in have a real [influence]. . . And the film does seem to have changed the way that boys can say, 'I want to be a ballet dancer like the kid in Billy Elliot ,' and somehow that's okay."
Lee Hall, who originally created the phenomenon that is Billy Elliot , summarizes the experience by stating, "Ultimately, it's about the kids. It's kind of like watching the most expensive school play ever because you go through the three hours, and you cannot believe that the kids have actually managed to do this. It's an incredible feat, and it's by far the most special thing I've ever been involved with. . . . What these kids manage to achieve is the meaning of the musical, and I'm always moved and humbled by what they do."
For more information, visit BillyElliotonBroadway .
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The cast of Billy Elliot also features David Bologna and Frank Dolce (Michael), Stephen Hanna (Billy's Older Self), Joel Hatch (George) Leah Hocking (Mum), Thommie Retter (Mr. Braithwaite) and Erin Whyland (Debbie).
The ensemble comprises Juliette Allen Angelo, Tommy Batchelor, Kevin Bernard, Grady McLeod Bowman, Heather Burns, Maria Connelly, Samantha Czulada, Kyle DesChamps, Eboni Edwards, Brianna Fragomeni, Greg Graham, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Eric Gunhus, Meg Guzulescu, Izzy Hanson-Johnston, Keean Johnson, Aaron Kaburick, Donnie Kehr, Cara Kjellman, Kara Klein, David Koch, Jeff Kready, Stephanie Kurtzuba, David Larsen, Caroline London, Merle Louise, Marina Micalizzi, Mitch Michaliszyn, Matthew Mindler, Tessa Netting, Daniel Oreskes, Jayne Paterson, Liz Pearce, Corrieanne Stein, Jamie Torcellini, Grant Turner and Casey Whyland.
Billy Elliot features choreography by Peter Darling, scenic design by Ian MacNeil, costume design by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Producers are Universal Pictures, Working Title & Old Vic Productions and Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn and Sally Greene. Angela Morrison and David Furnish are executive producers.
David Alvarez, Hadyn Gwynne, Kiril Kulish, Gregory Jbara, Trent Kowalik, Carole Shelley and Santino Fontana.
photo by Carol Rosegg
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