Billy Elliot the Musical
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 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. 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". It won four Laurence Olivier Awards in 2006: Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, 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, 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.
In December 2025, the producers behind the original production announced their search for children to play the roles of Billy, Michael and Debbie in a forthcoming run of the musical.
''[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, 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 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". 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.