| I Saw the Production in Summer 2016: Spoilers (I Guess) Inside | |
| Last Edit: jwilson 10:27 pm EDT 06/22/18 | |
| Posted by: jwilson 10:19 pm EDT 06/22/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Hungarian National Opera cancels 'Billy Elliot'; cites homophobic campaign that claimed ballet turns boys gay - Teacher64 03:06 pm EDT 06/22/18 | |
|
|
|
| I saw the production two years ago when I was in Budapest. They don't cut Michael's character, but they severely downplay his gayness/ gender playfulness quality. The "Expressing Yourself" number, for instance, has the two boys trying on clown clothes and Fosse-like vaudeville outfits. (I reviewed the production for European Stages, and there are some images on that site.) It was confusing, and I guess the boys were tapping into their inner clowns rather than exploring gender diversity? At the end when Billy leaves, the two boys give a high-five to each other rather than having Billy give Michael a chaste and accepting kiss on the cheek. Also, Mr. Braithwaite is/ was played as an over-the-top gay stereotype--purely for icky laughs. And the ballet dancer who shares a smoke with Dad is presented as a predatory effeminate man putting the moves on Billy's father. There is no way this show endorses homosexuality or would make an unsuspecting child want to choose this lifestyle as the reports ridiculously state. It practically scared me straight! Believe me when I say, though, there was so much that was good about the production. Even though it was in Hungarian, I cried in most of the usual places. They incorporated the National Budapest Ballet, so there was some exquisite dancing. That said, I felt really uncomfortable watching the alternating sanitized gayness and over-the-top queeniness. I cannot believe Elton John, if he knew what was going on, would have approved the changes. I was in Budapest when the rightwing politics were really taking hold (and I recall the head of the Budapest National Theatre was fired for being gay and for directing Angels in America about the same time). If I had known ahead of my visit, and I probably should have, I would have taken my dollars to other theatres in Europe instead. |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | re: Hungarian National Opera cancels 'Billy Elliot'; cites homophobic campaign that claimed ballet turns boys gay - Teacher64 03:06 pm EDT 06/22/18 |
| Next: | re: I Saw the Production in Summer 2016: Spoilers (I Guess) Inside - Sam890 02:40 am EDT 06/23/18 |
| Thread: |
|
Time to render: 0.009407 seconds.