Billy Elliot

I found the soundtrack to Billy Elliot: The Musical in the summer of 2006. The show had opened about a year previous in London. I purchased the CD and found the music of Elton John fit well with Lee Hall's adaptation of his 2000 movie. The show opened on Broadway in the fall of 2008. A second American show opened in Chicago this week. I attended a performance during the first week it played in Chicago. I thought it lived up to the expectations - in fact, it is a show I'd like to see again.

The musical revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes. The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment are balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the UK miners' strike (1984–1985) in County Durham. Hall's screenplay was inspired in part by A. J. Cronin's novel, The Stars Look Down, and the musical's opening song is an homage.