Thanks, Lee!
If you haven't seen this, take a look!
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-14/billy-elliots-smash-debut/#Billy Elliot's Smash Debut
by Tina Brown
An incongruous fashion posse mixed with celebrities and New York City's mayor at the brightest Broadway night in memory.It was a Broadway night to end all Broadway nights. The combination of the electric gifts of British director
Stephen Daldry and the melodic score of
Elton John brought out an audience humming with Hollywood agents, studio heads, movie stars, and theater royalty—some, like
NBC chief
Jeff Zucker, with their kids in tow.
An incongruous fashion posse trailed behind the nostril-waving Italian couturier
Valentino, while Daldry mate and London friend
Kevin Spacey, along with Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Spamalot producer Bill Haber, and Universal chief
Ron Meyer delayed the start time by working the aisles. At the end of the show a plump, festive Elton joined the cast bows wearing a tutu. The sense of post-Obama celebration was palpable.
Billy Elliot celebrates the journey of a young boy from a grim Northern town doomed by the miners’ strike in Thatcher’s England who finds release—and his own unique identity—in the magic of ballet. The combination of the child’s Obama-like self-invention with the impending crisis of a jobless America added to the show’s timely union with the zeitgeist. In the era where the only community is virtual, it celebrates working-class solidarity as the pits close along with a way of life.
Haydn Gwynne as Mrs. Wilkinson and
Trent Kowalik as Billy Elliot.
David Alvarez as Billy,
Haydn Gwynne as Mrs. Wilkinson, and the company.
Gregory Jbara as Dad and
David Alvarez as Billy.
Kiril Kulish as Billy and
Stephen Hanna as Older Billy.
David Alvarez as Billy Elliot.
David Alvarez as Billy and police shields.
Kiril Kulish as Billy and Ballet Girls.
Three Billy Elliots dance during the "Billy Elliot - The Musical" opening night curtain call.
Elton John with
Kiril Kulish,
Trent Kowalik,
David Alvarez, and the ensemble cast during the
"Billy Elliot - The Musical" opening night performance curtain call in New York City on November 13.
