Billy Elliot Reviews
Washington Post- Recommended
"...That’s the most important thing to know about the tenderly and balletically effective “Billy Elliot the Musical” at Signature Theatre. Director-choreographer Matthew Gardiner steers this revival of Lee Hall and Elton John’s Tony-winning 2008 adaptation of the 2000 British movie with the kind of theatrical authority Signature audiences have come to depend on from artistic director Eric Schaeffer’s right-hand man."
DC Theater Arts- Highly Recommended
"...Signature's Billy Elliot the Musical soars with expressive, youthful dance energy and a liberating message of doing what you need to do to be who you want to be. Directed and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, Billy Elliot is positively exhilarating, even in politically-charged scenes when dance becomes a choreographed rage."
MetroWeekly- Highly Recommended
"...As she lives and breathes, Mrs. Wilkinson, the brash and caring ballet instructor who propels coal miner’s son Billy Elliot to fulfill his dance potential, has a similar effect on the musical that bears his name. Embodied by Nancy Anderson, Wilkinson enters her classroom in Matthew Gardiner’s new staging of Elton John and Lee Hall’s Billy Elliot the Musical, and the show exhales. Wearing loose curls, dance heels and leg warmers, she wafts in like a breath of fresh air after being stuck in a coal mine."
Talkin Broadway- Recommended
"...The show, which won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Musical, is Elton John's best Broadway score (better than Aida, which won him a Tony for best score in 2000), well suited to the characters and situations, with pungent, often profane lyrics by Lee Hall. (Hall also wrote the book, based on his own 2000 screenplay.) Much of the dramatic staging and choreography depend on the placement of the songs, notably "Solidarity," where the young ballet students weave among the picketing miners as police stare down at them from raised openings in the rear wall."
MD Theatre Guide- Highly Recommended
"...On a cold, wet night in Arlington, Virginia, I had the pleasure of seeing a singularly heart-warming show, “Billy Elliot the Musical,” at Signature Theatre. This production felt like the ultimate theatre experience; an extravaganza of song and dance that will not fail to please."
DCTheatreScene- Recommended
"...Signature's production is most confident in its group scenes, with Gardiner's innovative blocking semi-abstractly tying Billy's strenuous dance education to the frictions between the miners and the police brought in to contain and intimidate them. Mark Orsborn's additional choreography on an angry tap dance escalates those tensions at the end of Act I. A razzle-dazzle cross-dressing cabaret; Billy's tunes with Mrs. Wilkinson, her piano accompanist Mr. Braithwaite, and the ballet girls; "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher," a finger flip at the prime minster; and similar group songs pack an irreverently cathartic joy."
BroadwayWorld- Highly Recommended
"...For something completely different this holiday season, you might want to consider Signature Theatre's latest offering. Billy Elliot the Musical is not your standard holiday fare by any means. Sure, there are big production numbers, but the story features important underlying themes of labor tensions, economic inequality, and acceptance. In other words, this show follows my philosophy that theater is meant to educate as well as entertain. The production also features some pretty incredible ballet and tap choreography with a cast that performs it beautifully."