Spring's Awakening

October 15, 2012

Spring's Awakening, Off-Broadway at The TBG Theatre, located at 312 W. 36th Street (just west of 8th Avenue), a Marvell Rep production. Tickets only $25, and it runs through November 4th. 

Starring: Giuseppe Bausilio (Billy in Billy Elliot), Lizzy DeClement, and Dalton Harrod, and featuring an incredibly talented supporting cast lead most notably by Steven Braunstein, Ethan Navarro, and Anne Newhall. 

Some of you will say that rape, abortion, masturbation, suicide, teen gay romance, sadomasochism, atheism, and circle jerks aren't your thing.  I understand.  But you know what is one of my...things?  Great acting.  So if seeing absolutely fantastic, amazing, award-worthy acting is, you know, your thing?  Then you must, must, must see this beautiful show.

Last night, I attended the Opening Night performance, and I have to tell you, I was completely blown away at the talent up on stage.  Imagine if there was a machine that could locate and collect the best teen actors from around the world and put them all together in one show in New York City.  That's what seems to have happened.  The subject matter is intense.  Like, really, really powerful stuff.  And yet these kids show up, scene after scene, and they act with a passion that's rare in theatre.  They act their hearts out on stage as if there's a camera on their face and a Tony waiting for them in the wings.

Giuseppe Bausilio, most recently on Broadway in the title role of Billy Elliot The Musical, plays Melchior Gabor, the sad, confused, angst-ridden central figure in this story of kids being kids in a time in their lives when the adult in them is aching to get out, or at least just be found.  Melchior, influenced by his mother's open-minded upbringing, doesn't understand why the facts of life should be hidden at all, why everyone can't be who they were made to be.  He is the champion of free thinking, even though as the story progresses, this reality is revealed to be more complex than he at first realized.  Giuseppe, well known to many as one of, if not the best ballet dancers of his age, proves his acting chops are top-notch too.  Is there anything he can't do?!  His presence on stage is entrancing, his performance both gripping and sad, and he makes us feel all the confusion and intensity along with him.  Bravo to this young master of so many crafts and talents for pulling off such a complex, dark and brooding role!

Lizzy DeClement plays Wendla Bergmann, a 14-year-old girl aching to truly experience life and all its truths and pains.  She begs to understand everything, and sees in Melchior a boy who cannot only teach her through words, but also through actions.  Yet her eagerness is also her ultimate demise, as her passions and curiosity bring her everything she always wanted and even some of the things she didn't want all at once.  Lizzy DeClement is an extremely gifted young actress, and you are in a privileged position getting to sit there and watch her talk through her character's development and confusion.  She has a magic in her face and in her performance through and through, and it's clear she is destined for greatness on the Great White Way!

Rounding out the leads is one of those performers who brings his gifted acting to you subtly at first before springing on you with unmatched gusto and energy.  Dalton Harrod as Moritz Stiefel is equal to the best on Broadway and film.  He speaks with a haunting passion ready to let loose like a monster, and wrestles with his inner demons with a frightful power not of this world.  The role is built to be completely embodied, and not taken on by the faint of heart, which proves Dalton Harrod is a true star.  One can only imagine how difficult it is to step into that role day in and day out, lose yourself and your sanity, and still maintain a real life outside of the part.  He does an absolutely incredible job, and his performance is one for the ages!

In featured roles right up there with these powerhouses are three more stars that make this show absolutely rock.  As Mrs. Bergmann (Wendla's mother), Anne Newhall is exquisite in her performance.  She is a really wonderful actress, and brings the audience along with her with each smile, each tear, and even each thought through her head.  We love her, we ache for her, we understand her.  And as two of Melchior's friends who are secretly in love with one another, Steven Braunstein (Hanschen Rilow) and Ethan Navarro (Ernst) are as loving a couple as you will see in any storybook romance past or present.  Their pure affection and beautiful love story is a secret affair they both assume cannot carry over to their future, adult lives, but it is an electrifying romance of youth and passion performed gorgeously.  Not one second of their performance as lovers feels artificial.  And you can't help but be, how can I say, tickled to the bone by Braunstein's sexual soliloquy elsewhere.  It's a scene you will not soon forget!

The entire cast is just fantastic, especially the ensemble of young men and women playing the teenagers, who are all at or right around the actual age of their characters.  This show is only running until November 4th, so do yourself a huge favor and buy your tickets here right now.

Sean Patrick Brennan

Flunked and Defrocked

Flunk: to fail

Defrock: to remove someone's rights to exercise the functions of ministry

When I was 15 years old, I failed out of my high school. By failing three subjects at the end of my freshman year, I could not return in September, and would have to find a new school and make new friends. It was an incredibly traumatizing experience. Not only would it mean a difficult transition, it would also mean I would be branded as a complete failure to everyone who knew me.

Sometimes God has a sense of humor.

Three years later, in the spring of 1993, I was called to the religious life. Though the process of thinking and praying over such a big decision had begun as early as my sophomore year in high school, it was in the last few months of my senior year that God really called me. That's another story though. The irony was that as "Brother Sean" I would now be living at the same high school I was thrown out of! The Brothers' house was attached to the high school because they taught there and ran the school.

Yet as we've already established, God has a sense of humor. And the other half of my title (and part of my blog's name too) gives the rest away.

Four years later, in the summer of 1997, I was, well I was getting my hair cut. Engaged in a friendly conversation with Brother Peter, my barber, I suddenly felt my pager buzzing. Because I recognized the number as the Provincial's office (the head of our community and Province) I called him right away during my haircut. He sounded serious and asked me to come right down once my haircut was finished.

Upon my eventual arrival, I saw that he wasn't alone. With him were the assistant Novice Master as well as the priest who had recruited me to the order. They told me that it was obvious I wasn't happy there (again, that's another story), that they had decided I should leave the religious life, and that I should leave right away that day.

In 7 years' time, I was thrown out of the same building twice. Sense of humor.

To say that my life has been "different" would be an understatement. The fact that I flunked out of high school and was later defrocked in that same building would be ironic if it wasn't just so sad. Both times, I was devastated and confused, tear drenched and lost. Though my life's story goes on, this story within does have a happy ending. My losses and failures have been dramatic and serious. They have wounded me to my core. But they have also changed me for the better, taught me and inspired me ever since.

After I failed out of my first high school, I pressed on and worked hard to be a better student. In 1997, I graduated cum laude from Manhattan College with a dual Bachelor's degree in both English Literature and Theology, making the Dean's List several times, and achieving membership in multiple honor societies.

Even though I was removed from ministry and dispensed from my vows that year too, I continue to pursue ministerial work today. I've been honored with a Humanitarian of the Year Award, have planned and written several Interfaith Services, and write and preach spirituality constantly.

So what is the moral to this tale? When you've been knocked down in life, when you're literally devastated by the reality you face, trust that the story isn't over yet. Have faith that the second part of a particular story in your life's book hasn't been written yet. Your happy endings won't erase the beginning of your story, but you wouldn't want them to anyway.

Writer's Stock

I find myself lately on a precipice, the safe ground of private writing behind, and the leap of writing for the masses ahead. There's a stack of notebooks in my home right now filled with writing I've done over the years, their covers in need of dusting. It's not that I'm scared to have my words read by so many, I just don't know how to go about finding that audience.

When I write for Websites like Examiner and Patch, I get some, but very little feedback. Some articles are more popular than others, and I track them to see which ones are only shared a little bit, and which are shared scores of times. It's hard to guess which articles people will like most, but I'm already studying the trends seriously, and learning a lot.

Yesterday I spent two hours collecting data from various pieces I've written, documenting their locations, statistics, and comments on the World Wide Web. It's fascinating to see which topics people seem to care most about, and which ones get snubbed due to disinterest. That isn't to say I'll stop writing about something just because it's an unpopular topic, but it does mean that I need to focus my energies on the "big ticket" stories that people will want to share on Facebook and Twitter with their friends.

I've studied high-traffic reports on other Websites too, and learned what kinds of titles encourage people to "click through" to read more. Getting people to view your article is one thing, but writing so well that they want to tell others about your article is another.

Anyway, this whole blog today is really just my way of letting you know what I'm up to lately. My writing is voracious, and I'm excited about what my future holds. Besides Examiner and Patch, I wrote something for another Website in September which earned me over 3,000 views and over 2,000 Facebook shares. The site staff are difficult to deal with and don't respond to e-mails well, so I don't know if I'll write for them again, but the taste of a greater audience has stayed with me.

I also have two or three books I'm working on right now. I say two or three because I'm honestly not sure yet if two of them might be pointing themselves toward one another for a cool merger. I guess time will tell.

So that's where I am. Writing, writing, writing. The feedback and scope are still slim to none so far, but I'm not discouraged. The amount of pages that I've created from thin air is encouraging me to keep going. And I continue to trust that a very cool future waits for me just up the road.

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Did You Just Say FML?

If you're over 30, or just out of the loop with the newest lingo, you may have never heard this phrase. So for those who need a quick definition, FML stands for "F*** My Life", and it's a phrase some people use to indicate how, well, f***ed their life is.

It's really quite disturbing. Apparently it's not enough anymore to say that your situation is bad. Now, kids--and far too many adults--are saying that their entire life is just completely f***ed. FML. F my entire life. Everything sucks so much--FML.

Where has this come from? How did a phrase start this quickly and become an acronym so fast? Well, here in Generation Text, it may have even started as an acronym that had to be explained as a phrase. I don't know, and I don't care. What I do care about is how awful this is, and how important it is that we encourage people to stop this, once and for all. I know that my life is not f***ed, and neither is yours. Do we have struggles, challenges, maybe outright disasters and upheavals? Yes. But our life itself is not in any way f***ed!

I'm not going to feed you some New Age baloney that you won't want to listen to anyway. But I am going to plead with you not to throw around phrases like this that reduce your life to the equivalent of a squashed bug on the sidewalk. Besides it being a gross exaggeration anyway, it's also far too pithy a throwaway phrase for something that should be treated with a lot more respect than the letters F, M, and L could possibly contain.

What's even crazier is that some have found FML to be too weak! FML is just not doing it for some people. So they've found a way to add another modifier to the phrase, to the acronym. And that's when FMFL was created. That's right, F*** My F***ing Life. How nice.

This has gone from sad to ridiculous in no time, but more importantly it's once again just a horrible example of people turning the most insignificant stumbles in their life into something much more dramatic than it is. I have to work overtime again. FML. I got only 3 hours' sleep last night and have to drive 300 miles today. FML.

Really? I'd point people to cancer patients or rape victims, widows of fallen soldiers or children starving to death. Does your use of the phrase FML really hold water now? And more importantly, not even cancer patients would use such a phrase. And that's because the more you struggle in life with something really horrible, the more you appreciate all of the great things you do have in your life.

So if you use this phrase, please stop. And if you hear someone else use it, please consider telling them to stop doing so. Your life is not f***ed. Your day, week, month, or year may not be the greatest. Maybe entire years of your life have been really hard. But your life is a whole lot more than the sum of its recent parts. And it should never, ever be reduced to such a throwaway definition.

ILML, and I hope you will love yours too!

Sean Patrick Brennan
Malverne, New York

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unemployed

I write best when I'm filled with emotion, so I figured I may as well write something today. Yesterday, quite out of no where, I was laid off from my job. You may know me or you may not, but I can assure you this was not due to poor quality of work nor for hours not worked. Not only did I put in overtime almost every week, but I was also widely hailed as a great worker.

So what can you say when you do everything right and work really hard, love your job, love your company, help advertise your job to friends and family even when not on the clock, and then the company turns around and says, "You know what, we're gonna reorganize and find a way to do without you." There's nothing you can say. It's just a slap. A real slap in the face of an innocent man is what this is. I harbor no ill will toward my immediate manager(s) or coworkers, but whoever decided to do this without consulting those people as to who should go and who shouldn't made a gravely irresponsible decision.

Maybe they thought that if they gave the choice to the managers, that the managers would only spare their favorites and not the best workers. If that's the kind of faith you have in your managers, that's pretty sad.

But maybe it's another reasonless reason, that they just closed their eyes and like choosing a winner as randomly and fairly as possible, they pointed to numbers on a page instead of faces and people.

Either way, a great wrong has occurred here, and that's the part that hurts the most. Whether it was a mass layoff by random choice or by salary, they still made an absolutely 100% incorrect decision to remove me from their roster.

If you run a stop sign and an officer gives you a ticket, you can grumble, but you'll still know that you were in the wrong. If you park in an illegal space, you can protest as much as you want, the sign is still right there. But when you've done nothing wrong and prove yourself to be an outstanding worker, and a company still chooses others over you, the wrong is 100% with that company. And I believe that company will, as has happened before, be told of their error. Whether they choose to do the right thing and bring me back, as they did once before, is unknown. But they will be told of their error.

What will happen in my absence? Well, four people are left to do the work of 7 in my department. That's four people by the way, who even if you took away their Internet time and other break time, could still only do at maximum the work 5 did before. Not to mention the fact that my job was a department unto itself that no one else really knew. Which means very quickly, there will be 80 hours of work undone each week. Ridiculous.

Yet all of these words are the rants of someone looking backward with dismay and sadness and a little bit of anger. I need to regroup, I need to compose myself in a myriad of ways, and I need to walk forward confidently, knowing that though this particular company made the mistake of letting me go, there is a whole world out there waiting for me. It's a world of endless possibilities, and somewhere out there is a company who will appreciate me even more than I will appreciate it. I will make more money than I did before, I will meet new and interesting people and make new friends, and I will be happier than I was before.

I am unemployed...now. I will most likely be unemployed tomorrow. But somewhere in the near future is a better tomorrow for me and for my life. I will forgive those in the past who did this to me in error, and I will wish them well. But I will also prove my worth as an employee and as a person tenfold. I'm looking forward to it and I'm also just looking forward. Tomorrow, here I come!

Fantusical! Enthusical! Wow-zeusical!
Seussical The Musical In Malverne, New York

Imagine you're going to see a high school musical. No, not the movie by that name, just an actual local high school musical. What are your expectations? Maybe some occasional highlights amidst a mostly below-par performance? Some laughs, some obvious talent sprinkled in, but still just a local show with local talent, so probably nothing above and beyond stellar. I mean they can still be good shows, just pretty much worth the $9 or $10 admission you paid, right?

Well this past week, I witnessed a definite contradiction to the above rule. Malverne High School put on what can only be described as an above awesome production of Seussical The Musical. That's right, Malverne. You know, the quaint Long Island town whose cute main street can be explored in under 15 minutes? The one that local residents--with affection of course--call "Mayberry" and "Norman Rockwellville". Yes, that Malverne put on a really, really great show that would absolutely compare to the best Off-Broadway productions you've ever seen. And it included at least six actors (Zachary St. John, Samantha Henry, Ashanti Graham, Francina Smith, Rayven Mason and Jesse Gillespie) who I believe are true stars, some even destined to make it to Broadway! That’s not to say others won’t too. Through hard work and discipline, self-confidence and joy, anything is possible! Honorable mentions too go to Mr. and Mrs. Mayor played by Will Avelar and Sarah St. John as well as to Jojo, played at separate performances by Kayla Mascall and Christina Sangineti, both from the class of 2017.

Full disclosure: I know someone in the cast, but only one person, and she had a small part, as this was her first show. But for the record, Megan Malone shined in her role! You're gonna be a star some day kiddo, and I'm glad to have been there for your first show!

The sets were crazy. And by crazy I mean, "Whaaaaaat??? Am I really in a local school auditorium and seeing all of this??? Really???" They were truly amazing! So much work, painting, sawing, creative designing and just plain ol' man hours must have gone into them and they paid off 200%. Those involved in set design, painting and construction should be very, very proud of their hard work!

Malverne High's lighting, sound and costume departments were all equally stellar and extremely impressive. Lighting cues were hit, sound systems were crisp and dependable, and the costumes were beyond expectation and really, really fun to see, both as they were introduced and throughout the show.

The pit orchestra was perfect, really. All of them--all of you--should be so proud of your talents and hard work! Big props too go to co-directors Kenneth Zagare and Rachel Trevor. To be able to coordinate and teach all of the actors their parts, the choreography and the cohesiveness of the entire show, takes incredible talent. Malverne High School is in very, very good hands and the students are extremely fortunate to be under the tutelage of these masters of their craft!

Actors truly are what make or break a show, and the talent exhibited this past week in Malverne was truly inspiring and inspired. A huge cast came together after months and months of practice and rehearsals, each one having put in so much hard work to get their part and parts perfect. And all of them deserve paragraphs to themselves which I unfortunately cannot do.

I've written this review as a new Malverne resident (as of 2009) as the best way I know how to help support both the Malverne community and the local high school. The auditorium itself is located less than a thousand feet from my house, so I also look forward to the thriving future of live entertainment here in Malverne just a very quick walk away! And so, though I cannot single out all of the actors, I do hope each of them knows their hard work was appreciated, their parts were all enjoyed and they did a great, great job!!! So please forgive me now for only highlighting three of the cast members before I close.

First there is Horton, played by Ashanti Graham, whose voice was just beautiful. My Playbill tells me he's only a sophomore, so Malverne can look forward to more stellar performances from him in the next two years! His acting was perfect, his voice was perfect and he succeeded in capturing the audience's collective heart with an extremely tender and beautiful portrayal of Horton as the sweet and loving elephant. It’s a great role, but all roles are only as great as the person playing them that day. And he did so beautifully. Well done, Ashanti!

Next there is Gertrude, played by the perfectly cast Samantha Henry. I'd never seen the show before Saturday, having missed it when it was on Broadway. Nor had I heard the soundtrack except for a live rendition of one famous Gertude song by Billy Elliot's Tessa Netting. It's clearly a role that requires lots of stage presence, ownership of the part and confidence. It also calls for oodles of talent, and Samantha Henry had all of it. She was wonderful and funny and sweet, and she always had our full, enthusiastic attention every time she was on stage. Also a sophomore, Samantha will no doubt shine in the years to come at Malverne! She was fabulous! And since it's too good not to include, here's part of her Playbill bit: "Because she is playing a bird in Seussical, Sami would like to dedicate her performance tonight to lonely penguins everywhere." She's also got family in the pit--her dad Steve Henry and brother, Max Henry joined Jim Brosnan as the brass section, who were all awesome!

And finally, last but certainly not least, Zachary St. John played the Cat In The Hat. Two words: Tony Award. This guy has got Broadway written all over him! Only a junior, Malverne still has one more year to see him be amazing right here at home, and on Saturday afternoon, I witnessed a true star in that mischievous cat makeup and costume. You know it when you see it, and those who attended any of this past week's performances would have seen it each and every time I'm sure. He belongs on stage! Zachary was just awesome through and through and he made his already big part even bigger, not with big moves or gaudy attention-grabbing maneuvers, something no good actor does. No, he had your attention with the smallest little smiles and funny little moves. He could sing, he could dance, he could act--he even played the trumpet! Can anyone say "Quadruple Threat"?! He was just SO good, and if the little kids and moms and dads hadn't surrounded him for pictures after the show, I'd have made my way to congratulate him too. Bravo, Zack!

All of the actors, set builders, musicians, and production staff deserve a standing ovation for a job very well done. This was only my first show as a new Malverne resident, but I can tell already that the future for Malverne and the world is already very, very bright! The young people coming out of this small hamlet are enormously talented, and whether mentioned here or not, you were all awesome!

I'm so happy to be part of this community and looking forward to many more great productions in the future! Best wishes and much success to all of you!

Sean Patrick Brennan
Malverne, New York
March 13, 2011

Review: Michael Dameski in Billy Elliot 3/31/2010

originally posted for www.billyelliottheforum.me.uk AND www.friendsofbilly.com

Wednesday March 31st, 2010

Billy: Michael Dameski
Michael: Jake Evan Schwencke

This was my 13th time seeing the show and the end is not only not in sight, it's not ever going to happen. I will see this show as often as my wallet allows for as long as I possibly can. If I die before the show stops running, I will be in Heaven watching the show every "day".

My guest this past week was my friend Christian from Germany. He and I met through a Billy Elliot MOVIE fan group over 8 years ago and have been online friends since. This was our FIRST TIME meeting ever (our first time like ya know) and we spent the week seeing NYC together. On Wednesday the 31st, we saw Billy Elliot The Musical together on his birthday (his first but not last time seeing it). We spent much of his week in New York quoting lines from the movie to each other in as authentic an accent as we could (even though English is his second language, he did even better than me!) and after he saw the musical, we both added lines from that to our dialogue as well. By the time I dropped him to the airport on Saturday afternoon, I was overcome with emotion and couldn't even speak I was so sad to be letting him go again. As I drove away, I sobbed uncontrollably, wiping away tears so that I could avoid hitting cars. The next day I apologized online for being such a BFW, one of the phrases we quoted to each other from the movie. To give you a hint, it's what Tony calls Dad as Billy runs back to say goodbye to Michael. =)

This was my first time seeing Michael Dameski and Jake Evan Schwencke (still need to see Liam, Dayton, Alex and Jacob). I loved them both! Such different characterizations of each part than I've seen from anyone else! And it's been about 9 months since I've seen a short version of Billy, so that was a nice change too. =)

Before I go on, I have to say how special it felt even from thousands of miles away, to be seeing Billy Elliot performed in the Imperial on Wednesday at 2 PM while at the same time across the pond such a special show was underway at the Mother Church! I felt the connection and the solidarity in the air at The Imperial. And while I'd have chosen to be at the Victoria Palace Theatre if I could have, Wednesday's show at The Imperial was the second best place on Earth that day!

The day BEFORE the show, on Tuesday the 30th, I had brought Christian into the city despite the rain so I could show him some of the sights like Times Square. Monday was a total washout and his luggage which should have come with him from Germany to Dublin to New York had been sent on to Boston after he changed planes in Dublin. If the luggage was across the ocean in Dublin, he would have gotten it back by Monday evening. But because it was just a few hours away, he would not get it back until Tuesday via FedEx to my house on Long Island. And I'm only a short 15-minute drive from JFK too! Don't even try to figure that one out! Anyway, Monday he was wearing some of my partner Andy's clothes because they have a somewhat similarly svelt shape (ST5X) and so by Tuesday when his luggage arrived, it was time to just start seeing NYC, even if it was rainy. We couldn't decide on a good Italian place so we settled for Olive Garden, which I assured him was not authentic but is usually tasty. Side note to this side note: He'd never seen one of those light-up vibrating discs that restaurants give you to hold to let you know when your table is ready. Despite Germany's technological and economic superiority in many ways, that one hasn't crossed over. I think it's just because they're more sophisticated and more patient than we are in America. =) I'm sorry, my digressions are digressing...

At the bar at Olive Garden, the bartender asked the woman to my left what brought her to New York and Times Square. She told him she's a university teacher from Dallas and while her students were in meetings for some conference in town, she was trying to see a few shows. I asked her which shows, of course hoping she'd mention Billy, but she didn't. But she was seeing West Side Story and A Little Night Music, so I didn't slight her. She mentioned another too but I can't remember the name. I said, "Not Billy Elliot?" and she smiled and said no, not this trip unfortunately. I told her my story of how Christian and I met back in 2002 online because of the movie and how now we'd finally met in person and would be seeing the show together for his first time and my 13th. She was delighted for us and was interested in my take on the show and why I keep going back.

I mustered up something like, "Well, I don't know, it's just a very charmed show, there's just something extra special about it. Part of it of course is the dancing and the choreography, especially since Billy keeps getting better as the show goes on. I think any show that has the main actor performing better and better throughout as they learn how to do something makes for a really great show and Billy does this too. I mean in the beginning he's stumbling over onto the floor but by the end--wow!" I'm sure my facial expressions, the glint in my eyes and my smile gave away my love for the show too. I encouraged her to see it, to somehow squeeze it in before her trip ended, and assured her that she can get discounted partial view orchestra seats that would still be a great enough view. I don't know if she ended up going but I hope she sees it at some point.

The next day before the show began, a woman sat down in front of us with her father and her son. She asked me at one point how long the show would go for and I told her about 3 hours all total but worth every minute of it. "Have you seen it before?" You can all tell how the rest of that conversation went as you've had the same one (or soon will).

Michael Dameski's Billy is a little angrier than I usually prefer, but not in any way out of character for Billy. He may not smile often or for very long, but he portrays Billy as a tough kid from a tough town during a tough economic time. Michael's Billy is dark but in an exciting way. Theatre patrons come to see a show about a kid who dances, and the darker side of Billy only enhances the overall effect the show has on the audience. Somehow seeing a tough kid from a mining town in northern England overcome obstacles and secretly take ballet lessons is more evocative an experience than just seeing some boy from the suburbs do the same.

Michael speaks very clearly and his brooding temperament and angry-young-man movements are always in sync with his dialogue, whether through a simple "ow" or an earth-shattering scream. Speaking of screams...

I can't go on any further without just jumping to his Angry Dance. If decorum were not expected and composure was available, the appropriate response after witnessing Michael Dameski's Angry Dance could be put this way:

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu**ing Hellllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're just sitting there in your seat breathless to begin with but then not just a little scared by the end too. Not only has he completely captivated you with his movements, he has shook you to the core of your being with the longest scream you can imagine to end the number. You don't even want to clap or cheer because he is still in the moment and has screamed not just at the police or at life but at you as well. And as he stands up and brushes himself off he glares at you with such anger and disgust, even pausing to walk away but looking back at you still. Finally, ultimately, breathlessly, you come to your senses and begin to applaud and cheer with shock at what has just happened before you and what has just happened to you.

Okay. Regroup, Sean, you've got more to write.

As the lights came up for intermission, the woman in front of me turned back around and said, "You weren't kidding!" Her father told me that his other daughter was working with Elton John right now on a project, I think some animated movie but I'm not sure. They were all very impressed with the show.

Jake Evan Schwencke. Even his name points to the personality behind him. An adult in a child's body, Jake has a "knowing" you wish you had. He just looks soooooooooo comfortable on stage that you don't even think twice about whether he knows his part inside and out. There's an elvish impishness to his face that is just adorable and his eyes sparkle with a universe-understanding knowledge you can't quite put your finger on but again, wish you had as well. His Michael is more confident than some others not by example of craziness but in the quietly confident way he presents his character on stage. Where some might add a "c'mon" to Billy to move him along like when he tells him to look in the mirror, Jake just smiles and waves him over and you just feel that he not only owns the stage but owns Billy as well. He's the type of actor, it seems, that might be difficult to act with because you're always seeing your friend Jake smiling at you and not just the character that your character is acting with.

When they put on their tap shoes for Express, the boys seemed like Jake had beat Michael for the very first time. I have no idea if this is true or not, but Jake seemed absolutely thrilled with himself and I thought I heard him say, "first time!" with a really big smile. =) Very cute. Later on after Electricity when they're in the soup kitchen, Jake gives Michael D. some of his soup with a smiley look that can only be described as absolutely precious. =) Shows such a loving adoration he has for his friend Billy.

Back to Michael and his Electricity. His dancing is spectacular, really incredible and you can tell he's been with the show for a long time already between Australia and the U.S. His timing is great, his moves are varied and, well, electric, and he is wonderful to watch perform. One other man and I gave him a standing ovation after it and others may have joined too although it didn't seem like anyone in front or left or right of me did. Michael stayed in end pose but looked over at me when I stood and though part of me felt like he was breaking character, it also gave me a huge rush of feeling like I was part of the show...as if Billy had gotten one of the judges to stand and applaud too. =) And it reminded me of times in live theatre when others have given a standing ovation when I did not. I have often been too shy to give a standing ovation but am as often very appreciative that the stars are getting one from someone else. Still, he very much deserved it and I was happy to help. At show's end when Michael stood in front of the BILLY sign, the entire audience stood as one to give him a huge ovation. He is a wonderful Billy and if you see him perform you will love him!

When Jake came out for his final bow at the curtain call/encore, I gave out a big whoooo for him. The woman in front of me turned at that point and said, "He was great!" She said it in a way that made me feel like she wanted me to tell him for her. It's funny that people think I have connections when it's the furthest thing from the truth. =)

As we left the theater, a random 70-something year-old woman smiled at me and I asked her if she enjoyed the show. "I loved it!" she beamed. I told her it was my 13th time seeing the show and she grabbed her husband's arm and pointed to me. "He's seen the show 13 times!" He smiled at me and said, "I can see why, it was fantastic!"

Christian loved the show too, by the way, although he's more of a thinker type and not an emotions-driven guy like me, so he said he needed to process it all. He's seen Billy Elliot the movie more than any other, and though he originally saw it in German, he's since only watched it in English. He quotes the movie with perfect accents and really loves the story. So seeing the musical finally has brought him back to square one. He said he feels like he knows the movie so well and the musical is just different enough to really make him step back and go wow. He's not ready to gush yet but assured me he really loved it.

Christian is also not a big theatre goer but after we got home later that day, he was asking me if there was a soundtrack he could buy and if there were any video clips of the show so he could see parts of it again. When I did show him some scenes at home and another Billy (TK who I love) was in the video, he told me after that he preferred "our Billy" as in Michael Dameski. So I feel like I've done my job well enough. ;-)

Thank you for reading about some of the magic Billy's story has brought to my life in the past 10 years, thanks to Michael Dameski for being an AMAZING star and for the entire cast and company of Billy Elliot around the world for giving us such an inspiration to witness on stage. And thanks to Christian, my newest off-line friend from Germany, for joining me for an awesome week in New York!

Sean Patrick Brennan