I was expecting a lot going into this show, as I really, really love the movie. Plus, I'd heard such wonderful things about the show - the reviews were great, and other people I knew that had seen it really liked it. With all that buildup, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that I was a bit disappointed in the stage version. Not to say I didn't like it - I really did, I had a really good time, and I would recommend it for a great night out. It just wasn't *quite* as transcendant as I'd been hoping for.

The biggest change from the film is that there is a lot more focus on the strike, and the juxtaposition of the innocence of Billy's dancing with the worldly reality of the strike. That in itself I didn't mind, but it seemed to come at the expense of the family focus. There was never really any relationship development between Billy and his brother, in fact, Tony seemed to be used as a mouthpiece for the die-hard strikers, much more so than as Billy's brother. In the first act, Billy's dad just seemed mean, there weren't the more tender moments that there were in the film. It was a bit remedied in Act Two, but it didn't produce the same emotional reaction in me because it hadn't been built up from the beginning.

The dancing, naturally, was fantastic, and I really liked the fact that they had chubby little ballerinas in the dance class. :-) Dean McCarthy, who played Billy, was an amazing dancer, and fully deserved every bit of appluase that he got. I especially liked the pas de deux at the opening of the second act with the 'full grown Billy', it was breathtaking. Jonathan Bowyer was a good Michael, though I found him a bit hard to understand at times. That was a problem with several of the characters - partly the accent, but also partly problems with the miking (though it might just be where I was sitting).

The set design was really impressive - I loved how sets were pulled out from the sides, and the house sets coming up from the stage was fantastic, and used really well. And I was concerned at the end that the miners might not actually be lowered into the stage, but they were, and all was well. :-)

I also missed the ending from the film, of seeing the grown-up Billy as a star - I can understand why they left it off, but I still missed it. Overall, I do prefer the film, but there's plenty here to like, and I would recommend it for a fun evening out - just be prepared that it will be different!