Billy Elliot the Musical
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Billy Elliot the Musical is an award-winning musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot. The music for the show was composed by Sir Elton John and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall (who wrote the film's screenplay). The musical revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes. The story of his personal struggle and fulfilment are balanced against a counterstory of family and community strife caused by the 1980s coal miners' strike.
The work premiered in March 2005 at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London, where it is still showing. It is directed by Stephen Daldry and choreographed by Peter Darling as was the original film. The producers were Working Title Films, Old Vic Productions Plc and David Furnish. The original cast album was released on January 10, 2006.
The musical is expected to open at Sydney's Capitol Theatre in January 2008 and on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre in summer 2008.[1]
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[edit] Synopsis
Set in County Durham, against the backdrop of the coal miners' strike, which lasted twelve months in 1984-85, motherless eleven-year-old Billy inadvertently finds his way into a girls' ballet class run by Mrs. Wilkinson and is attracted to the grace of the dance. Without telling his family, who would prefer that he study boxing, Billy continues to come to the dance class, and Mrs. Wilkinson, recognising his talent, encourages him to audition for the Royal Ballet School in London. Billy's friend Michael is a boy with homosexual feelings, and Mrs. Wilkinson's daughter Debbie is another friend of Billy's. Meanwhile Billy's gruff, conservative father and brother are engaged in a daily battle with policemen in riot gear protecting strike breakers. They struggle to get the family by with very little strike pay. The father comes to terms with his son's desire to be a dancer, as he becomes resigned to the realisation that coal mining is a dying business. The musical gives more emphasis to the miner's strike than the film, and consequently its tone is a bit darker and harder-edged than the film's, but the ending is uplifting nevertheless, and the musical has many comic touches. The show contains language that may be too strong for young children.
[edit] Musical numbers
- Stars Look Down
- Shine
- Grandma's Song
- Solidarity
- Expressing Yourself
- The Letter
- Born to Boogie
- Angry Dance
- Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher
- Into the Ground
- He Could Be a Star
- Electricity
- Once We Were Kings
- The Letter (Reprise)
- Finale
[edit] Awards and milestones
The show was nominated for nine Laurence Olivier Awards and won four of them on February 26, 2006. These were best musical, best choreography (Peter Darling), best sound design (Paul Arditti), and best actor(s) in a musical (James Lomas, George Maguire, and Liam Mower). At thirteen, Liam is the youngest actor ever to win the award. They were also the first ever to win the award in a shared capacity. Lomas, Maguire, and Mower also jointly received the Theatre Goers' Choice Award 2005 for The Most Promising Newcomer. Billy Elliot the Musical has also won several other awards: The Evening Standard Award 2005, the Critics' Circle Theatre Award 2005, and the Theatre Goers' Choice Award 2005, all for best British Musical.[2]
On 12 May 2006, the three original Billies (Lomas, Maguire and Mower) came together for one final show together to celebrate the show's first anniversary. The three rotated the role during the show and were joined at the end by Sir Elton John, who led the audience in singing Happy Birthday.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Billy
- Original cast: Liam Mower (through 30 September 2006, plus 20 November and 22 November 2006 Gala Night), George Maguire (through 17 December 2005, plus 12 May Gala Night), and James Lomas (through 7 January 2006, plus 12 May Gala Night)
- Other past Billys: Matthew Koon (1 March 2006 through 2 December 2006), Colin Bates (13 March 2006 through 24 February 2007)
- Current: Leon Cooke, Travis Yates, Dean McCarthy, and Layton Williams
- Future Billys: Oliver (Ollie) Taylor (to debut in June 2007), and Corey Snide (to debut in June 2007)
[edit] Michael
- Original: Brad Kavanagh (through 2 December 2006), Ashley Lloyd (through 17 September 2005), Ryan Longbottom
- Other Past Michaels:Joey Phillips (19 September 2005 through 3 June 2006)
- Current: Ryan Longbottom, Shaun Malone, and Jonathon (Jonty) Bowyer
- Trivia: On two occasions, one of the Billys has gone on as Michael, Liam Mower performing the role in September 2005 and Leon Cooke performing in February 2007.
[edit] Debbie
- Original: Brooke Havana Bailey (through 2 December 2006), Emma Hudson (through 3 June 2006), and Lucy Stephenson (through 3 December 2005)
- Current: Amy Duggan, Leigh Laurie, and Leyci Wightman
[edit] Other cast
- Mrs Wilkinson - Sally Dexter
- Dad - James Gaddas
- Tony - Chris Lennon
- Grandma - Ann Emery
- George - Trevor Fox
- Mr Braithwaite - Alex Delamere
- Dead Mum - Sara Poyzer
- Billy's Older Self - Issac James
- Alternative Dad - David Bardsley
- Alternative Billy's Older Self - Tom Linecar
- Ensemble: Craig Armstrong, Erica Ann Deakin, Rob Brownett, Damien Delaney, Susan Fay, Paddy Glynn, Kate Graham, Tim Funnell, Alan Forrester, Tom Linecar, David Massey, Francis Maston, Michelle McAvoy, Daniel Page, Lee Proud, Neil Reynolds, Mike Scott, Phil Snowden, and Dominic Tribuzio
- Ballet girls: Hollie Doell, Lauren Humphries, Shannon Cornish, Fleur Woolf, Megan Ellis, Heather Nicol, Rebecca Webster, Katy Stephens, Renee Ocran, Hannah Partridge, Jadie Hobson, Gabriella Atkinson, Blaise Colangelo, Sienna Colangelo, Mollie West, Becky Smith, Hayley Smith, Emily Johnson, Jasmin Colangelo, Devon Johnson, Kirsty Hickey, Antonia Fawcett, Hollie McKinlay, Alena Robinson, Georgia Brown, Lydia White, Daisy Mann, Michaela Price, Georgia Walton, and Emily Juniper
- Tall boys: jonhah Lees, Louis Hale, and Joe Howe
- Small boys: Harry Taylor, Alex Velleman, and Danny Delaney
[edit] References
- ^ Information about the Broadway production and possible changes to the show
- ^ "Elliot musical leads stage awards" from BBC News (accessed February 28, 2006)
[edit] External links
- Billy Elliot the Musical official site
- Billy Elliot the Musical Fan Forum
- Review and news about the musical
- Clips from the Billy Elliot original cast recording
- Some photos of the cast at the Stage Door
- New clips of the show featuring Colin Bates playing Billy
- Information about the original cast album
- Billy Elliot the Musical Fan Forum with exclusive reviews, insider news, ticketing advice and huge gallery
