Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...For "Billy Elliot" is a freewheeling piece of working-class populism that, despite the structural inconsistencies and, yes, despite this not being the greatest score, makes the best case of any modern blockbuster musical for the arts as a means of escape. The show seems to just be about an unlikely kid from an anti-arts environment trying to get into the Royal Ballet School. But it's really about how artistic truth flows from deep within us and how a dancer dances - and thus works, leaves, betrays - because nothing else makes him or her feel the same way. And it's about how as parent, one thing matters most of all: that you get behind your kids."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Yes, this show was a natural for Rockwell, who possesses a unique gift for working with children (and “Billy Elliot” puts an enormous weight on tiny shoulders), who began her career as a dancer-choreographer (this show is an ode to the way dance, and all the arts, can be a life-changing force), and who has a flair for making historical references in a musical (in this case, the traumatic British miners’ strike of the mid-1980s, during the era of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher) come to vivid life. And her production, the first regional edition of the musical — which features an altogether remarkable cast led by 14-year old Nicholas Dantes, an actor, dancer and singer whose performance is shattering on many levels — should now become the standard by which all future versions are measured."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Unfettered by the need to replicate the original, Rockwell has come up with a show that's both strong in the fundamentals and full of surprises. Also, saturated with engaging performances by such locally harvested talents as Susie McMonagle, Ron E. Rains, and Maureen Gallagher. Kyle Halford and Nicholas Dantes trade off as Billy; I saw the long-limbed Dantes and was amazed at the clarity of his dancing. But the subversive star of the piece is nine-year-old Zachary Uzarraga, whom Rockwell uses as a kind of imp of mischief, not unlike Billy Barty in God Diggers of 1933."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"... Regardless of whether you are a person who sees much theatre, this show is an excellent choice, especially if you can share it with teens of your own."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Powerful! That is probably the best word to begin this review with. Last night’s opening night audience at Drury Lane Oakbrook’s “Billy Elliot” saw a production that was far superior to the original that opened in Chicago prior to Broadway. This film converted to Broadway musical with a book and lyrics by Lee Hall and music by Elton John, tells the story of a young man who finds that ballet is his true love. This “love” and “desire” becomes the focal point for a community that is down on its luck and at odds with the world surrounding them."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This is a gritty, exciting and joyously inspiring production. It’s a celebration, in every way, of the strength we all harbor deep inside. This production, perhaps more than any of its predecessors, shows the true need for art in our often mundane lives. Ms. Rockwell and her astoundingly talented cast, particularly her well-cast, authentic-looking ensemble, bring “Electricity” to the Drury Lane stage and rejoice in what it means to follow one’s dreams and live the life that’s right for each individual."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...The Drury Lane artistic brain trust should be congratulated, first for accepting the risk of including “Billy Elliot” as a subscription show and then for allowing Rockwell and her staff and cast to underwrite the production so it could reach such a triumphant level of achievement. “Billy Elliot” by no means is an automatic hit, in spite of its profitable runs in London and on Broadway. The material will be foreign to most American audiences but the staging works so superbly that a British labor strike and an English boy’s dreams of becoming a ballet dancer are elevated to the universal. What a thrill it must be for the young people in the ensemble. If I were one of them, I would run to the theater every night."
