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Bravo for Billy
As Billy Elliot ;e Musical dances its way through a second hit year on Broadway and prepares to open productions in
Canada and Korea, it’s fascinating to reflect on
the incredible journey Billy has made from tiny
gem of a film to global juggernaut musical. With
music by Sir Elton John and direction by Stephen
Daldry, who also helmed the 2000 film upon
Dayton Tavares as Billy
with the company
which the musical is based, the story centers on
a boy from the British working class who realizes he has an undeniable gift for ballet. During
the course of the play, the boy’s family—and his
father in particular—must come to terms with the
fact that Billy’s talent ultimately will separate him
from them and their community.
;e show’s music and dancing are fantastic,
but it’s the simple and beautiful story at the heart
of it that really drives the play’s success. ;e
show’s central themes of family and of a parent’s
transcendent love for his child are universal and
timeless. Philip Whitchurch, who first played Billy’s dad in London’s West End and currently plays
him on Broadway, has been in a unique position
to observe how very similarly audiences across
continents respond to these themes.
“What’s great about the play is that it shows
you the whole mess of families,” Whitchurch
says. “;is is not the perfect family but, despite it
