Dancing boy

Yesterday I saw a performance of Billy Elliot, the Musical here in Detroit. The story takes place in England in 1984 and is of a 12 year old boy who discovers he loves to dance ballet. That doesn't sit well with his coal-miner father and older brother. The story was first told in a movie that came out in 2000. Elton John saw the movie and became the driving force to turn it into a musical, even writing the songs. It premiered in London in 2005 and came to Broadway in 2009. Both productions won lots of awards. It is now on tour.

There are lots of kids in the show. In addition to Billy there are all the girls in the ballet class (some times they look like a class, other times they dance as professionals). There is also Michael, who likes to dress in girl clothes (just like his father!). A pivotal scene is Michael helping Billy to see that it is good to be yourself.

The kid playing Billy did an outstanding job. I wondered about how rehearsals were worked out because with 8 performances a week, four boys play Billy, each doing two shows a week. The story was good, the acting (by the kids) occasionally stilted, and the songs were good (I liked the lyrics better than the music). I was bothered by the ballet teacher who didn't know how to provide basic instruction to Billy, merely telling him to do what the girls were doing. Overall, I'm very glad I went.

The story resonated on two levels. First was Billy trying to follow his dream with a disapproving father. A lot of gay people relate to that and this aspect is what attracted Elton John (though it was not the case with my own father).

Second was the setting. The story opens with the miners calling a strike and organizing to protest their unfair treatment. Having just come back from a big protest I could relate. There were displays in the various theater lobbies that expanded on the story. In 1984 the British government owned the coal mines. Maggie Thatcher had recently come to power and her strongest opponent was the miner's union at 250,000 members. She had the power plants (the biggest users of coal) stockpile coal from other countries, then put the squeeze on the miners. They held out for a year -- and, between family members and supporting businesses, that meant perhaps two million people without income. When the miners capitulated, Thatcher closed most mines and privatized the rest. No mines, no union, no organized opposition from it. Britain now gets its coal from Ukraine. The American GOP could only wish for such complete union busting.

While researching today's other post I found a Wikipedia entry for the strike. Under cultural references it listed Billy Elliot. And that linked to Ben Cook, who played Billy last night. Since he's from North Carolina I wonder how long it took him to get the northern British accent down.

Spoiler alert: The plight of the striking miners plays a pivotal moment in the plot. Billy might as well go off to ballet school because there is nothing for him in his home town.