Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot is a musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot. The music by Sir Elton John, and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who also wrote the film's screenplay. Hall's screenplay was inspired in part by A. J. Cronin's 1935 novel, The Stars Look Down about an earlier miners' strike, to which the musical's opening song pays homage.

The plot revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes. This is the story of Billy's personal struggle and fulfillment balanced against a counter-story of family breakdown and community strife caused by the UK miners' strike (1984–1985) in County Durham, in North Eastern England.

The musical premiered in London's West End in 2005 and was nominated for nine Laurence Olivier Awards, winning four including Best New Musical. The London production is still running strongly, and its success led to productions in Australia, on Broadway and elsewhere. In New York, Billy Elliot won ten Tony Awards and ten Drama Desk Awards, including, in each case, best musical. It has also won numerous awards in Australia including a record-tying seven Helpmann Awards.

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 entire Broadway production. The title role of Billy was rotated among three young actors, David Álvarez, Kiril Kulish and Trent Kowalik, the last of whom had also 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 Broadway production opened to rave reviews.