By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“)
When the season announcement was made last year that Jefferson Performing Arts (JPA) would be producing Billy Elliot: The Musical for its final 2025 show, there was some hope expressed that the local market might be able to yield a capable actor to tackle the title role. The demands placed on the young actor who plays the younger Billy Elliot are almost crushing.
He is the central character and as such is in practically every scene. He also must execute a number of classical ballet moves such as pliés, relevés, sautés and pirouettes, but also be able to express his feelings in contemporary dance selections like “Angry Dance” and “Dream Ballet.”
While director Kenneth Beck did audition scores of would-be Billys in person, a videotape sent in by a young Utah mother caught his eye. The woman stated she had heard Billy Elliot was being produced by JPA and begged they consider her son, Charlie Stover, a young man who had a world of experience. Although he had actually never done the role before, it was his dream, she explained, to perform it and he was very anxious to do it. Beck, who has been teaching ballet for years, recognized the young man’s potential and flew out to Utah to interview and work with him on two separate occasions.
Likewise, he was impressed with another dancing star out of Minneapolis named Noah Coon. Coon plays the older Billy in the key “Dream Ballet” in Act II and is a member of the ensemble at other times.
Based on an independent British film of the same title released in 2000, Billy Elliot tells the improbable story of a young boy from the mining country in County Durham in North East England who, despite economic hardship due to the 1984-85 Miners Strike, becomes infatuated with ballet and elects to make it his life’s passion.
He is exposed to the ballet inadvertently when he stumbles into a class being taught by Mrs. Wilkinson (Leslie Castay) in the same building that houses his boxing class. Castay, a native of nearby Laplace, is a Broadway veteran with one of the best voices on the local stage. She leads a chorus of dancing ballet students and Billy in a sensational version of “Shine” and is also quite prominent in “We Were Born to Boogie” with Billy and her accompanist Mr. Braithwaite, ably played by Greg Bonin.
Much of Billy’s story is told in the dynamic between him and Mrs. Wilkinson. She pushes him when she sees his special, but undeveloped talent. To his credit, he also innately realizes he does have the abilities to succeed in this foreign art form. Castay forms a maternal bond with him left vacant by his deceased mother, who is played in the emotional scenes of “The Letter” and its reprise by Candice Moses.
The other relationship that is tested and strained is that between Billy and his father Jackie (Louis Dudoussat), a striking miner who is reluctant to accept his son as a student of ballet and would rather have him learn skills in a boxing ring to help him get along in life. How he and Billy reclaim their father-son connection is also a vital part of the book written by Lee Hall, who also wrote the lyrics to accompany Elton John’s music.
While Dudoussat has played several other roles on the local stage, this is by far and away his biggest lead to date and he handles the role with skill. Usually part of the company of miners, Dudoussat gets to take the spotlight in “Deep into the Ground,” a reference to his family history in the mines and to his eventual demise. In the gritty language of a miner we understand the ongoing struggle to find a way to support home and hearth with dignity.
As Grandma, Meredith Long-Dieth is another noteworthy singer. Prominently featured in “Grandma’s Song,” she is used for some compassionate dealings with Billy in Act II and occasionally as a comic foil. Despite that, her voice is powerful and her stage presence is memorable.
As Michael, Billy’s companion, Parker Portera-Dufrene is superb. He is what we would today regard as gender fluid. Given that the time period is 1984-85, it is understandable he is not broadcasting his desire to wear women’s clothing to the world. Yet, he has no problem letting Billy know. Stover and Portera-Dufrene are a perfect match for the other. In “Expressing Yourself” he and Billy show they are clearly not going to be boxed in by conventionality. This number is a joyful declaration of being different and a highlight of Billy Elliot.
Rounding out the major cast members is Logan Breaux as Tony Elliot, Billy’s older brother, who is torn between his father’s support of Billy and solidarity with his fellow miners. Breaux turns in a very fine, layered performance that reaches its emotional peak in “He Could Be a Star” with Dudoussat as his father Jackie expressing support for Billy and at odds with his older son.
In addition to his work in a flying harness opposite Coon in “Dream Ballet,” Stover excels in two other essential numbers. In Act I, his “Angry Dance” allows him to vent his frustrations strictly through dance, while the iconic “Electricity” in Act II allows him to express his connection to dance through song. To say Stover carries this entire production on his very young shoulders is quite accurate and JPA is well served by his talent and industry.
Shout outs to three ensemble actors – Danny Rubio, Jr., Ken Goode, Jr., who also plays George, and Adriel Aviles, who plays Big Davey – for their work in Billy Elliot.
Maestro Dennis Assaf conducts a faithful rendering of the score with orchestrations by Martin Koch. The JPA pit orchestra has only ten members, but deliver a full and satisfying musical performance. Max DoVale, who is also in the pit on keyboards, serves as the music director. The sound by Kage Laney and the lighting designs by Gran Vicknair are very good. The costumes by Antoinette de Alteriis and the wig and makeup by Amanda Bravender also accentuate the performances quite well.
Surprisingly, the usual excellent set designs that fill the large JPAC stage space (credited to Eric Porter and director Kenneth Beck) did not meet expectations with this production. The remarkable “Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher” was one scene where the set design seemed to rise to the proper level. On many occasions, the set that flew in left large gaps to be filled on either side which showed the various entrances and exits of the actors. This was very distracting.
Where Beck does excel as a director is his eye for movement and choreography. There is little doubt that no quarter was spared in getting the best possible dancing for this production. While ballet students certainly are a most terpsichorean set of subjects and best described as lithesome and graceful, coal miners are more likely described as stiff and lumbering. Yet even they have a certain nobility in their manner on the stage, a quiet desperation while out on strike.
While this musical is largely about children, the language contained in the book is coarse and profane. Parents of young children are thus warned that the language is probably not appropriate for them.
Billy Elliot: The Musical (2 hours with a 15 minute intermission) has shows on Friday & Saturday, April 4 & 5 at 7:30 p.m. and finishes its run this Sunday, April 6, at 3:00 p.m. at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive in Metairie. For tickets, call 504-885-2000 or click here.
