Orcas Center Presents Billy Elliot, a Community Dance-Musical

Aristotle Luna plays Billy Elliot, directed by Robert Hall. The community musical opens March 15 and runs for two weekends, including Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

— by Margie Doyle —

They have been rehearsing for months and now are at Orcas Center six days a week, when they’re not going to school, working at their day jobs, or relaxing in their retirement — the “Billy Elliot” family of dozens of Orcas Islanders who are bringing a new song and dance classic to the Orcas Center Stage.

“Billy Elliot, the Musical” opens this Thursday, March 15 at Orcas Center, and will run for two weekends. The musical, with its main story line on a boy’s aspirations to dance in a blue-collar town, builds on the tradition of a community production involving our kids, parents, grandparents, old-timers and new-comers. Their talent is honed by island professionals in acting, singing, dancing, and all the small but important details that come with presenting a show.

Director Robert Hall found the play as he looked for a follow-up to last year’s smash-hit musical, “Spamalot.” Researching various options such as “Into the Woods” and “Chicago,” he found “Billy Elliot” based on the movie with script and lyrics written by Lee Hall, with music composed by Elton John.

He found his own Billy Elliot in Aristotle Luna’s various dance performances and in Orcas Center productions. Aristotle, who has been taught dancing by Anthony the Dancer and who has been with the Island Aerial Acrobatics taught by Maria Bullock for years, says, “I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity to be Billy Elliot. This has been a great learning experience. I am so happy to be a part of this cast family.”

Aristotle and Tiffany swinging in “Billy Elliot”

Robert Hall says,”People coming to see this play should know that we have got the best young man dancer from anywhere around here involved in this musical. In my opinion Aristotle is quite talented, and with the combination of Tiffany Loney and Anthony The Dancer as choreographers (and in Tiffany’s case, acting as well), there is nothing like that combination until you really get into the depth of Seattle. This is good, solid talent here.

“We’ve got a one-tme shot here, we may not ever be able to do the play on the island again.”

Tiffany Loney, whom Hall says is “a dance teacher playing a dance teacher,” takes on the role of the stern but encouraging dance teacher. “She is a godsend, says Hall.

Billy trades boxing lessons for dance classes

For her part, Tiffany says, “I was mostly interested in this production because of its emphasis on dance which is my first artistic passion. As a teacher and mother, I am interested in creating learning opportunities that are fun, real and challenging. I figured the best way for me to support our growing kids was to challenge myself with them. The learning never stops! The whole cast is digging deep to make this play a success and I’m certain our audiences will be moved in a way they weren’t expecting.”

Anthony the Dancer and Tiffany share choreography, with Anthony directing some of the ensemble numbers and Tiffany  choreographing the young ballet class numbers.

Anthony is not seen on stage, but his genius informs the musical with his choreography and rehearsals with the cast. He says, “The best part of ‘Billy Elliot’ is meeting new people whom I never would have known otherwise.”

He adds with a smile, “I didn’t walk into a group of dancers.” [Several are first-time hoofers and joke about being in Anthony’s ‘Third row’ onstage]. “But I watch how everybody processes the [instruction] and the most beautiful part is when they get it, the realization that comes into their faces and movements — it’s really magical.”

The story is about Billy, a motherless boy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes. The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment are balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the 1984–85 miners’ strike in County Durham, in North Eastern England. The year-long strike ended in failure for the miners and the closure of most of Britain’s collieries.

Robert Hall narrows the focus to Billy’s struggle: “It’s a challenge, following your heart. Billy is a young boy in an oppressive environment — in his family, where his older brother and father struggle as Billy ventures into a world where no boy in his community has gone before; in his gritty town, where the economic climate of Maggie Thatcher’s Great Britain in the 1980s bears down on the mineworkers. The family struggles deeply. We forget the impact of the coal strike, where 20,000 police faced off against 200,000 people, starving for the strike, for their cause.

“Behind his dad’s back, Billy sneaks to the dance classes instead of his boxing lessons ‘throwing away’ the 50 pence cost for them. It’s a well -written central story — strong, simple and universal.

“I’m really happy with the cast. Their characters all grapple with ‘What’s the right thing to do?’  not just Billy. Kelly Toombs, as Billy’s father, portrays the ‘remarkable arc’ of growth and understanding as his young son presents choices that he never dreamed of: “What do we really want for our kids?

“It’s not your average musical, not Rodgers and Hammerstein or Gilbert and Sullivan, but the music grows on you.” Coached by Sharon Abreu and Jim Shaeffer-Bauck, the actors sing such sentiments as:

• “The stars look down on the lean and hungry”
• “I’d be me for my entire life”
• “Solidarity forever, Through the dark, Through the hardship”
• “It doesn’t matter if your life’s a mess  — all you have to do is shine!”

Billy’s dad is played by Kelly Toombs, and his older brother, dead set on being a miner and even more opposed to Billy’s choices than is their father, is played by Garth Simpson. They lead a cast of a new generation of community actors: in starring roles, Anwyn Thompson, Trevor Wareham, and Bella Schermerhorn.

Trevor Wareham plays Michael, Billy Elliot’s best friend. Trevor says, “I heard of the character Michael through Aristotle Luna and immediately fell in love, he was the flamboyant cross dressing one, as I was told. All plays have their own challenges as they go along and I’ve seen the ‘Billy Elliot’ cast overcome most everything that is thrown at them, it is truly going to be a good show. I think everyone who comes to see the show should come prepared to laugh, cry and get their boogie on.”

The new generation of community actors also includes boomers such as Lew Thomas and Brenda Loney, who plays Billy’s grandmother and sings the poignant song of “the people we had to be.” Susie Shipman plays Billy’s ghost-mother who’s written a letter before her death to her youngest son.

“We’re really lucky,” says Hall, of the talent that has come forward to bring “Billy Elliot” to life: Julie Hogle is stage manager; Monica Steele is rehearsal pianist; and Martin Lund will conduct  a live 9-member band onstage during the performances. Hall again takes over the technical/artistic aspects of designing the set and lights, with Asha Azama and Corey Homewood doing sound and Susie Shipman in charge of costumes.

Hall says, “It’s got a life of its own and speaks volumes to me of the power of the story and the brilliance of the talent, especially Anthony, Aristotle and Tiffany. There’s a feel to it, a soulful, heartfelt, Anglo-Irish sensibility, a stubborn pride, heavy with atmosphere. It’s got a gut to it, not what you’d expect from a musical, traditionally and dark beer flavors in the musical, not rainbow popsicles, not clean.

“There will be tears,” Hall promises, not tears of sorrow, but of realization and of beauty. Theatrically it’s a great story, of a town supporting their unexpected ‘favorite son.'”

• Opening Night (March 15) tickets are offered at a special “Preview” price — $15, $11 Student
  $2 off for Orcas Center Members
• Regular tickets are $19, $15 Student and $2 off for Orcas Center Members.
• $5 Subsidized tickets available (limited numbers) in the Box Office
• On Friday March 16, Dinner and a Show Tickets are available for $75 (some tickets remaining)

“Billy Elliot” will run for a total of eight performances, March 15-18 and 22-25, 7:30 p.m., with two Sunday Matinees at 2 p.m. at Orcas Center.

Tickets may be purchased now at www.orcascenter.org or by calling 376-2281 ext. 1 or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12-3 p.m. $5 subsidized tickets available at the Box Office.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Susie Shipman’s name. We regret the error.