| Billy Elliot | |
|---|---|
| The Musical | |
 West End promotional poster | |
| Music | Elton John |
| Lyrics | Lee Hall |
| Book | Lee Hall |
| Basis | Film Billy Elliot by Lee Hall |
| Premiere | 31 March 2005: Victoria Palace Theatre, London |
| Productions | 2005 West End 2008 Broadway 2010 North America tour 2010 US tour 2011 North America tour 2016 UK tour |
| Awards | Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music |
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, 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.[1]
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.[2] Its success led to productions—on Broadway in New York, 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.
- ^ "Bill and Lee's excellent adventures". The Scotsman. 2 January 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ Goldstone, Kate (10 December 2015). "Billy Elliot pirouettes out of the West End". Best of Theatre.