Tickets Go On Sale for BILLY ELLIOT in Chicago on Friday, November 20, 2009

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment, announced today that tickets for Billy Elliot the Musical, the 2009 Tony Award®-winning Best Musical, will go on sale this Friday, November 20, 2009. To celebrate, Giuseppe Bausilio, one of the three young actors playing the title role of Billy Elliot, will make a special appearance in the annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival Parade on Saturday, November 21 at 5:30 p.m. Billy Elliot will begin performances Thursday, March 18, 2010 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre (24 W. Randolph St.).

Billy Elliot features music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and direction by Stephen Daldry. Joining Bausilio in the title role of the Chicago production are Tommy Batchelor and Cesar Corrales. Full casting will be announced at a later date.

Billy Elliot opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre 240 West 45th Street) on November 13, 2008 to critical acclaim. Billy Elliot was the winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards including: Best Musical; 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 Direction of a Musical (Stephen Daldry); Best Choreography (Peter Darling); Best Orchestrations (Martin Koch); Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Ian MacNeil); Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Rick Fisher); Best Sound Design of a Musical (Paul Arditti).

The production was the recipient of a total of 35 awards including being named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle.

Billy Elliot 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.

Billy Elliot 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, costume design by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch.

Individual tickets go on sale Friday, November 20, 2009 and range in price from $28 to $100. A select number of premium seats are also available. Tickets will be available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St. and 18 W. Monroe St.); the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000; all Ticketmaster retail locations (including Hot Tix and select Carson Pirie Scott, Coconuts and fye stores); and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Tickets are currently available to groups of 15 or more by calling (312) 977-1710.

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski

Article reprinted with permission from www.BroadwayWorld.com