SpongeBob SquarePants was celebrating his 10th Anniversary in Times Square yesterday, Wednesday July 15th and as part of the celebration, he came by the Imperial Theatre to meet the "kids" of BILLY ELLIOT. Trent Kowalik and Tommy Batchelor met SpongeBob along with many of the talented kids in the cast (along with some adult SpongeBob fans too!).
At the Tony Awards on June 7th, 2009, Stephen Daldry's production of Billy Elliot the Musical celebrated a big number of wins confirming the British musical as an internationally award-winning hit.
As well as Best Musical - an award the show has previously won in both the UK and Australia - Billy Elliot the Musical also won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical - Stephen Daldry, Best Choreography - Peter Darling, Best Book of a Musical - Lee Hall, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical - David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical - Gregory Jbara, Best Orchestrations - Martin Koch, Best Scenic Design of a Musical - Ian MacNeil, Best Sound Design of a Musical - Paul Arditti and Best Lighting Design of a Musical - Rick Fisher. The ten Tony's - a record for a British Musical - brings the total number of awards the show has won international to 73.
The 2009 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Billy Elliot the Musical stars David Alvarez, Tommy Batchelor, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish as Billy, Haydn Gwynne as Mrs. Wilkinson, Gregory Jbara as Dad, Carole Shelley as Grandma and Will Chase as Tony.
Featuring music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreographed by Peter Darling and directed by Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot the Musical is presented by Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment, based on the Universal Pictures/Studio Canal film.
Billy Elliot the Musical is the funny, heartwarming tale of a young boy with a dream, and a celebration of his triumph against the odds. Set against the historic British miners' strike of the 1980s, the story follows Billy's journey as a boy in a small mining town who, after stumbling across a ballet class while on his way to a boxing lesson, realizes that his future lay not in the boxing ring but on stage as a dancer.
Since its world premiere in May 2005 at the Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End, Billy Elliot the Musical has played to over 3.5 million people worldwide including HM The Queen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Hilary Clinton, Bill Gates, Hugh Jackman, the late Michael Jackson, Nicole Kidman, Ben Stiller and Anna Wintour. The thirty three boys who have now played the iconic role, including Jamie Bell who created the role in the original film, have been joined globally actors aged 6 - 75 years old.
The London production of Billy Elliot the Musical last month celebrated its fourth birthday in May and its 1700th performance as 12 year old Oliver Gardner from Bath joined Tom Holland (12 years old from Kingston-upon-Thames), Tanner Pflueger (12 years old from Norfolk, Nebraska), Fox Jackson-Keen (13 years old from Hornsey, London) and Bradley Wilson (12 years old from Doncaster) to play the title role. First performed at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney in November 2007, the Australian production has now transferred to Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne.
Billy Elliot is currently playing at the Imperial Theatre -249 West 45th Street.
Photos by Thos Robinson/Getty Images for Nickelodeon.
