BILLY ELLIOT Plans Changes, Creative Cuts

Billy Elliot the Musical, winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical, features music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and direction by Stephen Daldry.

Though the show has recouped its investment and has been running profitably since mid-2010, The New York Times today reports that changes are coming to the show to give it a broader appeal.

The story of a boy who stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class, Billy Elliot is generally regarded as family fare; still, school groups hesitate to choose the show for their students, according to producer Eric Fellner.

The creative changes planned to remedy this, Fellner tells the Times, include cutting back profanity, "[making] scenes easier to comprehend and perhaps make the show even easier to sell to groups."

Tickets for Billy Elliot the Musical range from $41.50 to $151.50, and can be purchased at the Imperial Theatre Box Office (246 West 45th Street) or by calling Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200 or visiting www.Telecharge.com. The playing schedule through Labor Day is as follows: Wednesday - Sunday at 7:30, and Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2pm. After Labor Day: Tuesday at 7pm, Thursday - Sunday at 7:30pm, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm.

Billy Elliot the Musical is produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn and Sally Greene. Angela Morrison and David Furnish are Executive Producers. The production features scenic design by Ian MacNeil, the associate director is Julian Webber, costume design by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch.

Read the NY Times piece here.