ON THE RECORD: Billy Elliot and Baker Street
By Steven Suskin
05 Mar 2006
This week’s column discusses the new Olivier-winning musical Billy Elliot and Alexander Cohen’s 1964 Sherlock Holmes musical, Baker Street.
BILLY ELLIOT [Decca Broadway B000613072]
And here, from the Victoria Palace Theatre, comes the original London cast recording of Billy Elliot. This is the new musical by the celebrated composer of The Lion King and Aida. Or, I suppose, the second-to-newest musical, as we wouldn’t want to leave out Lestat. Cognizant that such a pedigree might be as reassuring to fans of the aforementioned musicals as it is startling to the opposite, let me hasten to add that this time Mr. Elton John has given us a highly theatrical and satisfying piece of musical theatre. Based on the CD – I haven’t seen the show – it seems safe to say that Billy Elliot is something like a combination of The Full Monty and A Chorus Line, with the emphasis on the latter.
Several of the tracks are more pop than theatrical, as you might expect from the composer of The Lion King, etc. The surprise is that much of the score is perfectly suited to the theatre. Some of the numbers are funny, some are tuneful, some work into grand dance numbers, and a couple might even leave you wet at the eyes (in the best manner of Chorus Line and Carousel). I shall reserve full judgment until such time as I see Billy Elliot on stage. Advance word from the U.K. makes the show sound promising enough, destined to be an instant superhit on this side of the Atlantic. The CD makes Billy Elliot sound like it is good, too, and maybe even far better than good.
The U.S. release of the London album is labeled “original cast recording,” and I expect that is precisely what this is. The liner notes are so enigmatically laid out, though, that one wonders exactly what you are getting. No cast-by-character list is given, and the billing page credits only five performers (all with “starring” billing). The song lyrics are labeled enigmatically; “Shine,” for example, bears the legend “Mrs. Wilkinson’s Vocals: Haydn Gwynne. Debbie’s Vocals: Brooke Havana Bailey. Vocals: Ballet Girls, Female Ensemble.” We are then given the full lyric, without any indication of which character sings what. Ms. Gwynne is the first-billed star, which leads us to suspect that Mrs. Wilkinson is the leading role. But you wouldn’t know it from the CD.
Other songs might list three singers by name, but specifically label the lyrics of only one of the three. As for the title character, it is common knowledge that three child actors alternate in the role. This is not referred to in the booklet. The songs are usually labeled “Billy’s Vocals by Liam Mower,” although the opening number – which lists the character Billy in the lyrics – is simply labeled “Full Ensemble.” Are the other two Billy Elliots, James Lomas and George Maguire, heard on the album? They are given third- and fourth-star billing in the booklet, before Master Mower. Are all the Billy Elliots represented in the many photos in the booklet? Perhaps so; there is one especially cute Billy who appears on many pages, but he seems not to be the fellow in the photo on the cover.
I go on about this not because it seems to be a case of sloppy typographics. The handsomely designed booklet appears to intentionally obscure the performers. My assumption is that this is indeed the precise cast of the original London production, with one of the three Billys chosen to sing his role. (This is a good idea, mind you; in at least one similar circumstance, record producers chose to let alternating stars split the tracks, which made for a somewhat disjointed album.) Master Mower seems to sing all, or most, of his role; he is good on the album, although there is no reason to expect that the Messrs. Lomas and Maguire are not every bit as good. (Lomas and Maguire – who apparently are no longer in the show – shared a three-way Best Actor Olivier Award with Mower.) The top-billed Ms. Gwynne and Tim Healy — who sings “Dad’s Vocals” — are given short shrift.
Other presumably featured players, like Ann Emery, Joe Caffrey and the aforementioned Ms. Havana Bailey, are prominently featured in several numbers but given no additional credit; they are not even included in the cast list in the back of the liner notes. However, the musicians are listed, instrument by instrument; and the stagehands at the Victoria Palace are given title page billing just below Elton John, in the same size type as Lomas, Maguire and Mower. Cynics among us might wonder if the intention is to sell this CD – simply labeled “original cast album” – at all productions of Billy Elliot across the world, leaving purchasers who don’t delve into the booklet to assume that this is their local original cast. Or that, as the corporate powers might assume, the play’s the thing and it doesn’t matter in the least who is performing the roles.
All of which is not a criticism of the CD or the score. I mention this only because I have already noticed a certain confusion as to precisely who is performing on this CD – the original cast? studio performers? – and upon close examination of the liner notes, I couldn’t quite figure it out myself. What is clear is that Mr. John, himself, is performing. The American release of the cast album contains a second “Elton John Bonus CD,” with the composer singing three songs.
Given my concern about proper credit, let me add that the excellence of the CD indicates that director Stephen Daldry and lyricist/librettist Lee Hall have joined Mr. John in creating what appears to be a dazzling piece of theatre. One can at the same time assume that Martin Koch, who is billed as musical supervisor and orchestrator, has been a major contributor to this Billy Elliot. Continued...
