Critically acclaimed powerhouse Canadian actors Nicola Lipman, Patricia Zentilli, and Julie Martell are all making triumphant returns to Neptune Theatre and Halifax this week as Billy Elliot, directed by Jeremy Webb, opens tonight, April 28, 2023 at Fountain Hall.
Julie Martell was here most recently, playing Donna in Neptune’s smash-hit production of Mamma Mia in 2018, while Patricia Zentilli and Nicola Lipman were mainstays here, especially in the 1990s and early 2000s, appearing collectively in over twenty shows.
Martell plays various roles in Billy Elliot, Zentilli is Mrs. Wilkinson, and Lipman plays Grandma.
Nicola Lipman was based in Vancouver in 1971 when she was cast in her first show at Neptune Theatre, The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, directed by then Artistic Director Robert Sherrin. “It was the first year of the National Arts Centre, and they wanted to do a play that had somebody in it from every province, an actor or a designer,” Lipman explains, “so, it was the first show that went to the NAC. There were actors here from all over Canada, so that’s how I got here… [now] I feel like [Neptune] is my home theatre. It’s my favourite theatre in Canada. It’s got so much history, and there’s something about it… it’s not big, but there’s an intimacy, and it’s got good bones.”
Patricia Zentilli, who is from Halifax, made her Neptune debut in 1997, during Neptune’s 34th Season, when this theatre was being renovated. She played Sister Robert-Anne in Nunsense (Dan Goggin), directed by Cliff LeJeune and starring Bette MacDonald as Mother Superior. For two years during the renovations shows like Nunsense were performed at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. Lipman remembers the “Juliet balconies”, and “much more ornate proscenium” in the old theatre. She gestures to the side door on Sackville Street, now in the lower lobby, and says, “You used to come in right there. [The theatre] was sort of on the corner.” “It’s sort of weird to think I was on this same stage… seven billion years ago,” Zentilli laughs. Even though she hasn’t been onstage at Neptune since Daryl Cloran’s production of Rabbit Hole (David Lindsay-Abaire), Zentilli, who is currently based in Edmonton, marvels over the fact that she still gets recognized sometimes while walking down the street in Halifax. She stresses that she’ll always think of Halifax as her hometown.
Julie Martell grew up in Sydney, and speaks to the distance between Nova Scotia’s two largest municipalities saying, “It’s so close, but so far. Growing up, we didn’t even really cross the causeway to come to Halifax. The first time I was at Neptune was when I [played Belle] in Beauty and the Beast [in 2007]. That was the first time I was ever on this stage. Before that I had come to Halifax mostly for dance competitions and gymnastics.”
Lipman and Zentilli performed together here in Hamlet (2000) and Grease (1999), but despite all three ladies working extensively in Toronto, this is Martell’s first time working with both Lipman and Zentilli and she’s elated. “It’s such a blessing,” she says, “I’ve been a fan of Patricia’s forever, and it’s so great that we’re sharing the stage together. And obviously,” she continues, gesturing to Lipman with respect and admiration, “I cannot believe THIS is happening! What a stroke of good luck!”
Martell plays three characters in Billy Elliot: Billy’s recently deceased mother who makes several appearances throughout the show, a police person, and Val, a “secretary/baker/all around good time puppet maker.” Zentilli plays Mrs. Wilkinson, the dance teacher who discovers the potential in her student, Billy Elliot (played by Lennox Blue Powell and Nathan Malolos). “She’s kind of a tough character,” says Zentilli, “I don’t think she’s delighted with her life at the moment, and she teaches out of this town hall where there’s also boxing happening, and I think when Billy comes along it really changes her life. It reignites that spark of being an artist. She sees something in him that is very, very special, and she wants to nurture it. I think she’s a good teacher, but she’s a bit rough with the kids.”
The backdrop to the story is a mining strike, which is deeply affecting Billy’s family, and the entire town. “Just the idea of being a dance teacher in this tough mining town, during a strike, [Mrs. Wilkinson] is just from another planet, almost. It’s so great, because… she sort of represents the artist in the town,” adds Lipman.
Lipman plays Billy’s Grandmother, the mother of Martell’s character, who is referred to in the script as “Dead Mum.” In reference to her character Lipman says, “Since [my daughter] has passed away, I live with my son in law and his two sons, one of whom is Billy, and the big son is Tony, and we all live together. It’s a bit stressful because the miners are on strike, and no one likes living with their mother in law, or son in law, you feel that you’re a burden. And [my daughter] has recently died, so it’s difficult for all of us: it’s difficult for the children, it’s difficult for the husband, and it’s difficult for the mother, me. So that’s hovering around the family.” In relation to Grandma’s relationship with Billy, Lipman says, “He’s very good to her. He helps her. She’s got a little bit of memory loss, sometimes, so he kind of looks out for her. Whereas the son in law, the dad, and the brother, they’re busy [with the strike.]” Zentilli adds that then it’s Mrs. Wilkinson who steps in to become a surrogate mother figure for Billy.
While we are chatting Unionized Federal Workers are on strike and picketing along Argyle and Barrington Street, right outside the theatre. Lipman says the show is “very timely,” adding, “I think people appreciate depth in a musical. [This show] has such a good, powerful story.” Martell adds that this show has special resonance for people in Nova Scotia, where coal mining has such a long and poignant history, “Coming from Cape Breton, where mining is so prevalent and so many of the mines closed, and so many men and women lost their livelihoods, and have had to move out West and do this travel back and forth for jobs, the script is so [resonant]. There are certain times when I was reading it, and Tony says something, and I remember overhearing uncles and grandfathers having those conversations about the pits closing, [and that] in twenty years we won’t live here anymore. The houses will be gone, because they were all living in Company Homes, and they all closed. It’s far more than just a job.” Martell brings a bit of her Cape Breton roots into the show, as her character Val, a baker, is rushing off to bake biscuits for the miners.
Zentilli stresses that there are some good laughs in the show, and that it is both funny and very moving, and Martell and Lipman agree, but all three advise that you bring your Kleenex.
I know folks in the audience and the theatre community alike are thrilled to have Nicola Lipman, Patricia Zentilli, and Julie Martell back in the building, and in the same show!
Billy Elliot opens tonight, April 28, 2023, at Neptune Theatre and plays until June 18th. Show times are Tuesday to Friday at 7:30pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are available online here or by calling the Box Office at 902.429.7070 or visiting in person at 1593 Argyle Street, Halifax.
Special Performances are as follows:
Billy Gala: May 5.
Support for Culture Industry Night: May 9
Talk Back Night: May 16
Audio Described Performance: May 28.
Neptune Theatre is fully accessible for wheelchair users. For more Accessibility Information click here.
