Great moments make great theater in 'Billy Elliot'

"Billy Elliot the Musical" - the Broadway blockbuster that opened at Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts Sunday - includes moments so moving, so fundamentally honest and so unabashedly joyful they take your breath away.

Case in point: the startlingly lovely second act pas de deux between 11-year-old Billy (the gifted Cesar Corrales, a guilelessness young actor and technically brilliant dancer) - and his older self (the superb Samuel Pergande). Set to the music of "Swan Lake," Peter Darling's exquisitely choreographed number reflects joy words cannot adequately express. Moreover, the dance elegantly reflects the musical's message about the need for self-expression and the power of art to inspire, illuminate and unite people under the most dire circumstances.

And that's just one scene in this truly remarkable show by writer-lyricist Lee Hall and composer Elton John, who joined local luminaries Oprah Winfrey and the Rev. Jesse Jackson in the audience opening night. "Billy Elliot" is a classic duck-into-swan story about a working-class boy from a Northern England mining town who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer, and the people around him who sacrifice to ensure he gets his shot. There are other moments, less grand but just as emotionally involving. And credit for them rests with the ingenuous direction of Stephen Daldry (who knows well the world he recreates on stage) and his exceptional ensemble of singing actors.

This is a profoundly honest, unflinchingly unsentimental show with incisive, affectionate writing by Hall and well-crafted songs by the savvy John, whose Broadway-friendly score combines unfussy ballads, requisite anthems, a couple of rollicking honky-tonk ditties and a bit of relentless rock 'n' roll. The latter comes in the form of Billy's "Angry Dance," an explosive display of rage and frustration that concludes the first act. (If dance is the physical manifestation of an emotional state, Darling's brilliantly conceived, pristinely executed depiction of Billy's internal battle - set against skirmishes between striking coal miners and the police - is among its most provocative examples). Yes, Daldry and his creative team inject de rigueur razzle-dazzle to rather delightful effect. But neither he nor Hall soften the thick accents and rough edges of the British miners and their families struggling to survive a crippling 1984 strike that ultimately destroyed a union and dismantled an industry.

"Billy Elliot" is a director's show. Its authenticity and humanity rest with Daldry and the emotionally resonant performances of his cast, particularly Corrales who shares the role of Billy with Tommy Batchelor, Giuseppe Bausilio and J.P. Viernes. The expressive Corrales is every bit a pre-adolescent boy - sweetly irritable and at war with himself and just about everyone else.

That includes Mrs. Wilkinson (the powerhouse Emily Skinner, a picture of compassion and determination), the gruff dance teacher who recognizes Billy's talent, and Billy's father (played with plain-spoken eloquence by Armand Schultz), a decent man caught in desperate times and unnerved by his son's new passion. The show's stellar performances extend to the supporting cast, including charmer Keean Johnson as Billy's cheeky, best friend Michael; Cynthia Darlow in a feisty comic turn as Billy's dotty grandmother; Marriott Theatre veteran Susie McMonagle, sweet and unaffected as Billy's late mom, and the marvelous Patrick Mulvey as Billy's anguished older brother who sees his way of life and his town slipping away and is powerless to do anything about it.

There is nothing cheap about this show's sentiment. The joy and the pain it reflects are real, and particularly resonant now, a week after 29 coal miners -- hardworking men from West Virginia trying to make a living in hardscrabble times -- lost their lives in the nation's worst mining tragedy in 40 years.

Ultimately "Billy Elliot" strikes a delicate balance between the intimate and the grand, between Broadway spectacle and quietly moving drama that leaves you with a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye.

"Billy Elliot" Rating: #9733; #9733; #9733; #9733; Location: Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theater, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.comShowtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets on sale through Oct. 24.Running time: About three hours, with intermissionTickets: $30-$100. Subject to availability, 10 limited view $25 tickets (limit two per patron) are available for each performance beginning at 10 a.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. Sundays. Parking: Paid lots nearbyRating: For teens and olderFalse308442Billy's dad (Armand Schultz) recognizes the enormous gift his son (Cesar Corrales) possesses in "Billy Elliot," in its Chicago premiere at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre. False <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Video</h2><ul class="video"><!-- Start of Brightcove Player --><div style="display:none"></div><!--By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and Cfound at https://accounts.brightcove.com/en/terms-and-conditions/.--><script type="text/javascript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js"></script><object id="myExperience77611051001" class="BrightcoveExperience"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="width" value="300" /><param name="height" value="255" /><param name="playerID" value="18011347001" /><param name="publisherID" value="1659832549"/><param name="isVid" value="true" /><param name="dynamicStreaming" value="true" /><param name="@videoPlayer" value="77611051001" /></object><!--This script tag will cause the Brightcove Players defined above it to be created as soonas the line is read by the browser. If you wish to have the player instantiated only afterthe rest of the HTML is processed and the page load is complete, remove the line.--><script type="text/javascript">brightcove.createExperiences();</script><!-- End of Brightcove Player --></ul></div></div></div>