Based on the 2000 film of the same name, the musical is set in Northern England during 1984–1985, the time of a bitter coal miners’ strike. In one of the many towns where most people depend on the mines for their livelihood lives the Elliot family. The family consists of Dad (Gregory Jbara), a longtime widower, coal miner, and union man; eldest son Tony (Santino Fontana); and 11-year-old Billy (played on different nights by David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish). (Kulish played the role the night this reviewer saw the show.) Also in the household is Grandma (the wonderful Carole Shelley), a woman who is beginning to slip a bit mentally.
Due to the labor situation, the family, like the community, is struggling to make ends meet, and both funds and tempers are short. Still, there is enough to pay for Billy’s boxing lessons.
One day after a lesson, he accidentally wanders into a ballet class run by the no-nonsense Mrs. Wilkinson (Haydn Gwynne, recreating the role she originated in London). To everyone’s surprise, it soon becomes obvious Billy has a special gift when it comes to dancing. Soon he is doing extensions and pirouettes with ease, at least until his Dad finds out and hauls him out of there.
However Mrs. Wilkinson wants Billy to audition for the Royal Ballet of London. To that end, she secretly arranges to give him private lesions for free. But on the day of the audition, a clash between the strikers and police, and the family’s discovery about what Billy and Mrs. Wilkinson plan to do, threaten to destroy his hopes and squash his passion for dancing forever.
This is a show with an epic storyline, yet at its heart, the musical has the simple message of following your dreams and being true to yourself. Masterfully and meticulously crafted, “Billy Elliot” is structured in a way that not only allows the audience to watch Billy follow his love for dancing, they’re also there when he actually discovers this love, as well as the moment when it becomes apparent he has the potential to be something special.
