Billy Elliot Follows Rod Stewart at Palace???
Date: 4 June 2004
According to today’s Daily Mail, the big show lined up for the Victoria Palace following the closure of Rod Stewart musical Tonight's the Night will be the long-awaited stage musical adaptation of hit 2000 Brit flick Billy Elliot (See Today’s News). The newspaper tips Billy to open at the Palace the first week in March 2005 following a 29 November 2004 premiere in, as previously tipped (See The Goss, 3 Nov 2003), Newcastle, appropriate for the story’s North East setting during the 1984 miners' strikes. However, a spokesperson for the production told Whatsonstage.com that the newspaper had jumped the gun with the news leak. Apparently, contracts have not been signed and the London venue is not yet 100% secured. She did, however, confirm that the musical will open first in November. A press launch is scheduled for 22 June 2004, at which time full dates, as well as music from Elton John’s original score, will be revealed. Details on casting won’t be announced until September. During the open auditions, started last autumn (See The Goss, 3 Nov 2003), to find the right 11-14-year-old boys to play ballet-mad Billy and his best friend Michael, director Stephen Daldry and his creative team have seen more than 3,000 boys, now whittled down to a final ten.
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