Shows from September 2011 to Present Part 3


5. Priscilla Queen of the Desert – January 5, 2012
            What is a better way to get out of the house during Winter break is to see a Broadway show for a cheap price.  I did that when I went to see the show Priscilla Queen of the Desert after winning their ticket lottery.  This was my 2nd time seeing the show.  It’s still amazing as ever.  Production number after production number leaves you smiling and having a good time. 
            The cast is really at their A game (same as the last time with the exception of Ellyn Marie Marsh (swing) who was going on for new cast member Lisa Howard who replaced Ashley Spencer.  By the time this gets posted the show would have closed (on June 24th 2012).  Plus it was my first time seeing Will Swenson (shortly after it was announced he and Audra McDonald got engaged) in the role of Tick/ Mitzi (Last time I saw his understudy Gavin Lodge).  Swenson it good in this part and I enjoyed his performance.    Everything from Gumby costumes, cupcake costumes to popping Ping Pong balls (done by J. Elaine Marcos – who will appear as Lily St. Regis in the new revival of ANNIE coming to the Palace Theatre where Priscilla was in the fall who is hilarious) make the show so enjoyable.  I am going to miss this show and all the glitter. 
 6. Billy Elliot Farewell Celebration – January 6, 2012
            Billy Elliot the 2009 Tony Award Winning Musical was coming to an end on January 8, 2012.  On January 6th, 2012, Original cast member Thommie Retter got a farewell celebration in Ripley Grier Studios.  I got to watch people who have become super fans of the show excited to celebrate Billy’s run. 
First Thommie along with some Billy’s taught us the choreography from finale and got us to sing along to the song “Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher”.      In a second studio, current cast members from the beginning to now performed expressing themselves through art – instrumental, dance, singing, acting or being triple threat.  Some of my personal favorites were Eboni Edwards’ tap solo (Acapulco, or shall I say Acapella), Tessa Netting’s rap about Broadway (though it said in the program she was singing “Never Neverland (Fly Away)” by: Scott Allan.  She had us fooled.), “Brotsjor: which was a beautiful and powerful modern dance done by Peter Mazurowski, 2008 Tony Award Winner Trent Kowalik showed off some triple threat by singing and tap dancing to “I Can’t Stand Still” from the musical Footloose (I think this guy is ready to tackle Broadway again in the near future), Tommy Batchelor and Jake Schwencke did fantastic monologues (Time to Go and Sunday Visit at Sunset), Giuseppe Bausillo performed “Crazy” which he gave us the lyrics (which Thommie, Sonny Paladino and Sonia Melo wrote), Joseph Joubert played a jazz version of Amazing Grace which was good, “Dancing Rainbow” a song taken by the TV show “Reading Rainbow” is really good done by Olivia Alboher, Lilla Crawford (who is getting ready to play the title role in the upcoming revival of Annie), Makenzi Rae Ficshbach, Brianna Fragomeni, Annabelle Kempf, Kara Oates (who is playing Jane Banks in Mary Poppins), Kendra Tate, Kendra Vanderbilt and Danika Yarosh and “Dance This Way (a version of the song “Walk This Way”) sung by Maria May and Ava De Mary (who is now playing the “Child” in the revival of Evita). 
Over all, I had a fun time.  I thank Thommie for putting this together for celebrating Billy Elliot over the 3 years it has been on Broadway.  I am really going to miss this show so much.  

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