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Reviews of Jeremiah James in Carousel |
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"Jeremiah James is sexily magnetic" But it's easily explained by the tremendous chemistry between Alexandra Silber's vulnerable and deeply touching mill-worker and Jeremiah James's dark, brooding hothead Billy.
Being a' couple o' specks o' nothing', as Billy puts it, makes them kindred spirits. Their yearning pours out in If I Loved You, and Billy imagines the child Julie is carrying, James makes the transition from fecklessness to fatherhood in the space of one marvellous number. (The Soliloquy) It’s a treat, too, to have a lead who exudes real American man. Jeremiah James, who plays fairground bad boy Billy Bigelow, conveys his raging, passionate uselessness in a way which wins your empathy, despite his tendency to smack the women he loves in the chops. Jeremiah James brings a dangerous air and brooding sex appeal to Billy Bigelow. Jeremiah James's Billy Bigelow is outstanding too: the desperado with the heart of gold, his conscience flickering like a faulty pilot light. What a shattering impression James and Silber make, after the dead Billy returns to earth and realises his daughter is following in his unhappy footsteps." I let my golden chances pass me by," he sadly sings and returns to heaven , half his life lost. An experience to cherish.
Posner’s actors, especially the vocally impressive Alexander Silber as a touching Julie and Jeremiah James as a muscular Billy, play the heart of the piece with stirring conviction.
Michael Coveney Whatsonstage.com
Jeremiah James as the dark-souled Billy and Alexandra Silber as the adoring Julie possess fine voices
The level of singing throughout is close to operatic. Muscular Mr James (as good-looking as a young Oliver Reed) brings nonchalance to his part in the duet If I Loved You - a contrast to Alexandra Silber's impassioned Julie. Silber herself has a rich mezzo soprano voice, and her duets with Jeremiah James's full-bodied Billy are packed with both longing and disappointment.
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