Billy Elliot in New York
Billy Elliot the Musical is all the rave on Broadway. It just won 10 Tony Awards, including the one for Best Musical and is as popular with audiences as it is with the critics. The stage musical was inspired by the 2000 film of the same name. Tourists are often attracted to the many diverse Broadway offerings, and Billy Elliot is one of the current favorites. Guests staying in 5 star New York hotels may have a difficult time getting tickets to this show, though they should be available when purchased in advance.
Elton John wrote the music for Billy Elliot and Lee Hall, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, wrote the lyrics. The basic story of the musical centers on the young boy, Billy Elliot, who has lost his mother and decides he is more interested in ballet than he is his boxing lessons. Young Billy’s struggle to be and express his true self through dance is juxtaposed against the other theme in the story, which deals with the 1980s coal miner’s strike in Northern England.
The musical first opened in London’s West End in 2005. It was a huge success there and was nominated for nine Laurence Olivier Awards. It won the award for Best New Musical as well as three others. It was moved to New York and in addition to the 10 Tony Awards it won, it has also 10 Drama Desk Awards, once again including that for Best Musical. The production is also extremely popular and successful in Australia, where it won 7 Helpmann Awards. It opened at Sydney’s Capital Theatre in November of 2007 and after an extremely successful run is scheduled to close this month. The 7 seven awards it won in Australia tied for the record for most won. In New York it tied with The Producers for the most nominations ever received by a musical, which is 15 total nominations.
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