Billy Elliot: The Musical is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy Elliot, a motherless British boy who begins taking ballet lessons. The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment is balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the 1984–1985 miners' strike in County Durham, in North East England. Hall's screenplay was inspired in part by A. J. Cronin's 1935 novel about a miners' strike, The Stars Look Down, to which the musical's opening song pays homage.
The musical premiered at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London's West End in 2005 and ran through April 2016. The production was nominated for nine Laurence Olivier Awards and won four, including Best New Musical. Its success led to productions—on Broadway, in Australia, and in numerous other countries. The New York production won ten Tony Awards and ten Drama Desk Awards, including, in each case, Best Musical. The production in Australia also won numerous awards, including a record-tying seven Helpmann Awards.
A live recording of the musical was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 24 November 2014.
Productions
Original London production
The premiere of the musical was planned at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, but this was abandoned due to financial problems of the Tyne Theatre's operator, and the production's growing budget.
The musical premiered in the West End at the Victoria Palace Theatre, opening in previews on 31 March 2005 and officially on 11 May 2005. It closed on 9 April 2016, when the theatre closed for refurbishment, after 4,600 performances. The show reportedly cost £5.5 million to produce (the original film version cost $5 million). The producers were Working Title Films, Old Vic Productions Plc and David Furnish. It was directed by Stephen Daldry and choreographed by Peter Darling, as was the original film. Liam Mower, James Lomas and George Maguire were the original actors who alternated in the title role, and the supporting cast included Haydn Gwynne as Mrs. Wilkinson, Tim Healy as Billy's father, and Stephanie Putson as Billy's mother.Thomas S. Hischak, The Mikado to Matilda: British Musicals on the New York Stage, p. 24 The sets were designed by Ian MacNeil, the costumes by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting was by Rick Fisher, and sound by Paul Arditti.
The musical received favourable reviews: The Daily Telegraphs Charles Spencer called it "the greatest British musical I have ever seen".Official Website – West End press reviews billyelliotthemusical.com It won four Laurence Olivier Awards in 2006: Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (awarded jointly to James Lomas, George Maguire and Liam Mower, the boys who played Billy), Best Theatre Choreographer and Best Sound Design. It also won the Evening Standard Theatre Award, the Critics' Circle Theatre Award, and the Theatregoers' Choice Award, all for Best Musical.
The original cast album was released on 10 January 2006. On 12 May 2006, the three original Billys appeared together in a performance of the musical to celebrate its first anniversary. The three rotated the role during the performance and were joined at the end by Elton John. At the 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards, the show won another Olivier Award, the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Most Popular Show (voted for by theatre goers), after many years of being finalists for the award. After Margaret Thatcher died in 2013, according to director Stephen Daldry, the audience were given the choice to decide whether the song "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher" would be included in the performance that day, since the lyrics include the sentence: "We all celebrate today 'cause it's one day closer to your death". As only three audience members voted against it, the performance went ahead as usual. On 3 July 2015, 12-year-old Nat Sweeney from Birmingham became the 41st actor to play the role of Billy in London, making him the 100th to play the role worldwide. Elton John appeared on stage at the final West End performance in April 2016.
Billy Elliot the Musical Live In June 2014, it was announced that the musical would be screened and broadcast live to cinemas around the UK and the world. On 28 September, the matinee of the musical was broadcast as it was being filmed at the Victoria Palace Theatre to cinemas around the UK and other countries, with further encore screenings of that same performance on other dates. Billy was played by Elliott Hanna. Liam Mower, one of the three actors who originated the title role, returned to play the role of Older Billy. In addition, 25 past and present actors to have played the title role on the West End performed a specially-choreographed dance number at the finale. The live broadcast topped the UK and Ireland box office the weekend it was broadcast, a first for an event cinema release, beating The Equalizer with £1.9m. This performance was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 24 November 2014 in the United Kingdom. This cast includes Elliott Hanna in the title role with Ruthie Henshall as Mrs. Wilkinson, Deka Walmsley as Billy's dad, Chris Grahamson as Tony and Ann Emery as Grandma. Further cast included Claudia Bradley as Dead Mam, Howard Crossley as George, David Muscatt as Mr. Braithwaite, Alan Mehdizadeh as Big Davey, Liam Mower as Older Billy and David Stoller as Posh Dad.
Billy Youth Theatre Billy Youth Theatre was a countrywide scheme as part of which participating schools and youth groups were given the opportunity to stage their own production of the musical. Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall, together with Martin Koch (musical supervision and orchestrations), adapted their original script and orchestrations to produce a shortened version of the show exclusively for groups staging local productions as part of Billy Youth Theatre.
Australian tours Original Australian tour The musical opened at Sydney's Capitol Theatre on 13 November 2007, directed by Daldry in association with Julian Webber, and choreographed by Darling. Rhys Kosakowski, Lochlan Denholm, Rarmian Newton, and Nick Twiney alternated in the title role. The production earned good notices, and in January 2008 it won Best Musical at the 2008 Sydney Theatre Awards. The show also won seven Helpmann Awards, including the awards for Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Choreography, Best Female Actor (Genevieve Lemon as Mrs. Wilkinson) and Best Male Actor, awarded jointly to the four boys who played Billy Elliot at the 8th Helpmann Awards. The production concluded in Sydney on 9 November 2008 with all eight Sydney Billys in the finale.
The Sydney production transferred to Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre, opening on 13 December 2008. The Melbourne production closed on 14 June 2009 after a successful run.
10th anniversary Australian tour (2019) On 10 April 2017 it was announced that Billy Elliot would open at Sydney's Lyric Theatre in October 2019. The production transferred to Adelaide, followed by Melbourne where it was scheduled to close in April 2020. The adult cast featured Kelley Abbey as Mrs. Wilkinson, Justin Smith as Billy's dad, Vivien Davis as Grandma and Drew Livingston as Troy. Mid-way through the run, Abbey withdrew from the show and was replaced by her understudy Lisa Sontag as Mrs. Wilkinson. On 28 November, Elton John watched the show from a private box and surprised the cast and audience by participating in the final bows. The show closed just over a month early in Melbourne, on 16 March 2020, due to audience restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Original Broadway production The Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on 1 October 2008 in previews, and officially on 13 November 2008. The London production's creative team directed and designed the Broadway production. The title role was rotated among three young actors, David Alvarez, Kiril Kulish, Trent Kowalik, the last of whom had previously played the role in London. The supporting cast included Haydn Gwynne, reprising her role of Mrs. Wilkinson from the London production, and Gregory Jbara as Billy's father.
The production received rave reviews: Time called it a "triumph"; critic Liz Smith termed it "breathtakingly brilliant" and "absolutely, unequivocally awesome"; the Daily News said it was "so exhilarating that at times you feel like leaping"; the New York Post said it was "almost like being in love" and termed it "amusing, perfect and passionate" and "the best show you will ever see"; and the Los Angeles Times called it a "global theatrical phenomenon".Billy Elliot official website – Press Reviews / It has also been very financially successful, with $20 million taken in advance ticket sales. In 2009, the production received fifteen Tony Award nominations, tying with The Producers for the most nominations ever received by a Broadway show, and winning ten at the 63rd Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The original three boys in the lead role, Alvarez, Kulish and Kowalik, jointly won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. The production sold strongly and recouped its original investment of $18 million in 14 months. The Broadway production closed on 8 January 2012 following 40 previews and 1,312 regular performances.
Original Mexican production The first Spanish language production opened on 14 February 2017 at Centro Cultural Teatro 2 in Mexico City. The role of Billy was played by Mauricio Arriaga, Demián Ferráez, Ian González and Aaron Márquez. The role of Mrs. Wilkinson was played by Anahí Allué. The cast also included Hernán Mendoza, Carlos Fonseca, first actress Norma Lazareno and Concepción Márquez as Billy's father, Tony and Billy's grandmother respectively. Tony Award winner David Alvarez, from the original Broadway production, reprised his character in its adult version for this production. Billy Elliot closed on 30 December 2017 and from January through August 2018 it embarked on a national tour.
Original Spanish production The second Spanish language production began previews on 22 September 2017 at the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá in Madrid, and officially opened on 5 October 2017. The role of Billy was originally played by Pablo Bravo, Pau Gimeno, Cristian López, Miguel Millán, Oscar Pérez, and Diego Rey, with Carlos Hipólito as Billy's father and Natalia Millán as Mrs. Wilkinson.
Billy Elliot closed in Madrid on 10 March 2020, when performances were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The production reopened on 9 October 2021 at the Teatre Victòria in Barcelona, where it ran until 22 May 2022. With 1,166 performances played, this is the 3rd longest running production of Billy Elliot worldwide, only after London and Broadway.
Stratford Festival production
The Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario announced that Billy Elliot would be part of its 2019 season. Previews began on 16 April 2019, and the official opening performance was held on 28 May. The production was scheduled to run until 3 November, but was extended due to popular demand until 24 November. There were a total of 119 performances throughout the season.
The production was staged in the Festival Theatre, making this the first time the show has been performed on a thrust stage. Because the audience would be seated on 3 sides of the stage, the blocking and staging needed to be designed so that all members of the audience could see the performance. The production was directed and choreographed by Donna Feore, with set design by Michael Gianfrancesco, costuming by Dana Osborne, and music direction by Franklin Brasz.
Nolen Dubuc was announced for the lead role of Billy. While there was an understudy, Dubuc ended up performing in all 119 performances. The rest of the cast included Emerson Gamble as Michael, Blythe Wilson as Mrs. Wilkinson, and Dan Chameroy as Dad.