Variety: "Broadway Pressure for 'Billy Elliot'"

Variety reports on the high stakes for the New York production of BILLY ELLIOT (one hint: the show's capitalization is said to top $18 million).

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990616.html?categoryid=15&cs=1

---

Wow, they rented an entire Off-Broadway theater just for rehearsals? That's gotta cost a fortune! I know next to nothing about this show but it sounds like the title role is extremely demanding, especially for such young kids.

---

Updated On: 8/16/08 at 06:22 PM

---

Updated On: 4/3/10 at 08:19 PM

How this fares in NY will be interesting.

It opened here in Australia (Sydney) in January after previewing from December amid much hype and talk of a run of at least 16 months in Sydney alone. It closes there in a month or so before moving to Melbourne for what is now billed as a limited 26 week season. There is a problem with this show and that is that it is considered by some ticket purchasers as being "family friendly", and many have left disappointed because of language and harsh subject matter (well I guess with all those kids you'd expect it to be kid friendly). Word got around pretty quickly by disgruntled parents not to take your children and subsequently the box office flagged. Midweek attendance was frequently down to about 60% though weekends were healthy. Whether this will be an issue in NY remains to be seen.

There were adjustments made in the show between London and Sydney to make the show more internationally accessible, but from what I heard many of the changes were restored before the show opened here.

"auds" sounds like a ailment.
I'd rather take my children (if I had any)
to a show that encourages kids to be themselves
than POPPINS or MERMAID who teach kids, God knows what.

A little swearing never hurt anyone.

I wonder something. I know that the off Broadway theatre that they rented was/is The Little Shubert. Would they have been able to save some money on the rental of the Off Broadway theatre, because keep in mind they are playing in a Shubert house on Broadway and rehearsing in a Shubert owned off Broadway house.


I wonder what the target audience for this show would be on Broadway. I know alterego said that there were some parents who thought that the production in Sydney was family friendly and felt let down when they came out and realized that wasn't true.

If they want to change the target audience of this show they could do something like Poppins did. Poppins ads in London were talking about how parents shouldn't bring their kids to see it. Yet, when it came to Broadway that all changed and Disney advertised it as being a family friendly Disney show.

---

BillyE: as someone who is regularly in Sheffield, I think most of the city was quietly satisfied that the musical never really took off in the way that the film did.

The changes in the City over the last ten years have been quite astonishing and next weekend sees the demolition of one of the proudest symbols of the city's industrial heritage - see my PM.

Updated On: 8/17/08 at 11:21 AM