More Billy Elliot

I have so much more to talk about in regards to Billy Elliot: The Musical!

The role of Billy is currently alternated among four actors--the three original Billy's who opened the show (and who all won a joint Tony Award): Kiril Kulish, Trent Kowalik, and David Alvarez; plus a former understudy who was added to the main cast rotation earlier this year: Tommy Batchelor. As I mentioned before, I was hoping to get to see one of the original Billy's perform at the Saturday matinee I went to, but Tommy Batchelor was fantastic and all my concerns over that issue dissolved during the show. I was also hoping to see Tony Award-nominee David Bologna in the role of Michael because he performs like an absolute professional, but Keean Johnson shined as Michael in his own adorable way. Oh, and interestingly enough, Trent Kowalik actually played a couple small roles in the show I saw, namely "Tall Boy" and "Posh Boy," so I think what they do is they have one of the actors who isn't starring as Billy in the given show take over those smaller roles for that performance. So I guess you could say I did see one of the original Billy's perform, ha, just not as Billy.

Anyways, after the performance ended, I waited at the stage door with other fans and got the autographs of Tommy Batchelor, Keean Johnson, Trent Kowalik, and a couple of the ballet girls. I also got just a few pictures before my camera battery died. How convenient. But, I wanted more autographs and more photos, so I decided I would come back to the stage door later that night to catch the stars after Saturday's evening performance! I got there at around 10:30 PM, which is about 15 minutes before the performance would end, but before it did, I was surprised to see David Alvarez come out of the stage door all of the sudden. Wasn't expecting that, but I got his autograph! I presume he had played one of the small roles (perhaps "Tall Boy") in that night's show. He left quickly, but not before a fangirl noticed him and told him what a great job he has done in the show. Cute!

As I continued to wait at the stage door for the show to end and other cast members to show, I talked with a nice lady and her young daughter, who had a similar idea as me: they had come back to the stage door for a third time to get pictures with more of the stars. They were both very sweet and it was nice to actually share a conversation with someone other than myself. I also tried to get some photos of the actors that night, but my camera struggles (shall we say) in low light. It turned out that Trent Kowalik was Billy for that evening's performance. Here's a couple photos I have from that night. None of the others turned out well.

The back doors of the Imperial Theatre, plastered with this awesome huge poster thingy:

Me with Tony Award-winner Gregory Jbara ("Billy's dad")--sorry about the awful blur, but like I said, my camera stinks (and so does my beret, gah!):

Okay, so that night, I added the autographs of David Alvarez, Gregory Jbara, and Kyle DesChamps (I think he was a fill-in for "Tony" or part of the dance ensemble--I'm confused; either way, he's part of the cast) to my collection. But still no Kiril Kulish! So I decided to go back again Sunday afternoon (yesterday) because I have to collect the autographs of all the Billy's. Hopefully nobody will think I'm a stalker, haha. But guess what? Kiril Kulish wasn't there yesterday, either. Trent Kowalik played Billy again. How does this rotation schedule work, anyways? Oh well, looks like I'm gonna have to go look for Kiril again later this week. Here's a couple photos from yesterday.

Trent Kowalik signing autographs for fans:

Signing more autographs:

Merle Louise ("Billy's grandma") signing autographs (I got hers, so it made the afternoon worth it):

And here's some videos I took!

This first one I took outside the Imperial Theatre before I saw the show on Saturday. You can't really understand what I'm saying because of the street noise, but it's okay, you get the idea:

This one primarily features David Bologna greeting fans on Sunday afternoon:

These next two videos feature Trent Kowalik signing autographs and posing for photos yesterday:

It was so exciting getting to see these amazing young stars in person! I admire them so much and wish I could have as much drive and talent as they do. Trent Kowalik seemed quite shy in person, and hardly said a quiet word as he signed autographs for people (aww). I suppose even though he's been doing this since last October, he still isn't used to all the attention! Keean Johnson also seemed pretty shy and really gracious. Tommy Batchelor was kind and enthusiastic about it all, and radiated with as much joy in person as he did on stage. David Bologna was all smiles when he came out of the stage door; he was very outgoing and mature when greeting fans. He has a sense of professionalism that is very impressive, which you can sense when you see him perform or do an interview. Adorable!

Wow, okay, I have spent way too much time on this post. You may have noticed I'm doing something a little new with my posts--I'm adding links here and there that you can click on for more info, videos, or goodies related to what I'm talking about. I've even gone back on a few older posts and added some. Be sure to click on them and check 'em out so it isn't a waste of effort on my part! Thanks for reading. I'll let you know soon enough how my quest for Kiril's autograph goes, and I'll show you what my complete autograph collection on my souvenir program looks like.

Peace and Love!