Billy Elliot Eyes Broadway and Toronto
By John Nathan
15 Mar 2006
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George Mason in Billy Elliot.
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| photo by David Scheinmann | The producers of the Olivier Award-winning musical Billy Elliot confirmed to Playbill.com that they are looking to take the musical to New York and Toronto.
A spokesperson for the show said, “We are currently evaluating several production scenarios for Billy Elliot—The Musical throughout the world. We hope to be able to announce our plans for productions beyond London shortly, but at this moment we have not made any confirmable decisions regarding Broadway and Toronto.”
Stephen Daldry’s production won Best New Musical at last month’s Olivier Awards. Peter Darling picked up the Best Theatre Choreographer Award while the Best Actor in a Musical Award was shared by James Lomas, George Maguire and Liam Mower, who rotated in the title role.
The Elton John musical, which also won the Evening Standard’s Best Musical Award, is currently booking at the West End’s Victoria Palace until October 2006.
Set in England’s North East against the background of the miners’ strike, it remains to be seen if American and Canadian theatre audiences will warm to the show as much as their British counterparts.
But producers Working Title and Old Vic Productions will be buoyed by near universal critical acclaim for the show.
Lee Hall’s feel-good book (based on Hall and Daldry’s 2000 film) about a working-class boy’s dream of becoming a ballet dancer appears to have every chance of overcoming any cultural barriers.
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