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6 October 2004


Leads Cast for “Billy Elliot – The Musical”

The hottest ticket next spring in London’s West End will be “Billy Elliot – The Musical.” Sir Elton John has written the score, and Stephen Daldry is the director – two men who rarely produce drivel. Moreover, as film fans know, the potential for a stage production of the story is immense. The hard part is casting Billy himself, a role that will require a teen-ager to carry a West-End production. James Lomas, 14, George Maguire, 13, and 12-year-old Liam Mower have received that heavy burden with the lightness of youth.

Film fans will recall the movie won a 2000 BAFTA for young Jamie Bell as best actor for his portrayal of a coal miner’s son who decides dance is his future. But Mr. Bell, as brilliantly has he played the role, had the benefit of multiple takes and the usual bag of tricks a good cinematographer brings to his job. The three young men who will rotate playing Billy during the 8 shows each week will not have those luxuries.

To accommodate different strengths among the three, Mr. Daldry, director of the film, says "Each show is about the individual boy. They each have their own talents, therefore the show has to be individual to them." That means those who see Mr. Lomas, a former gymnastics champion in Sheffield, may get more gymnastics and those who see Mr. Mower, who just won a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School – not unlike Billy – may get more dance. The challenge goes down to accent, as young Mr. Maguire is from Essex in the south east of England where they talk quite differently from the coal fields up north.

What will prove interesting beyond the father-son relationship is the way Mr. Daldry will choose to play the background story of the 1984 miners’ strike, from which some communities have yet to recover. There is no sadder scene than when Billy’s father, played with a magnificent dignity by Gary Lewis, decides he can’t afford to stay out any longer and will take the scab pay. Will Mr. Daldry wind up opening old wounds or will he sanitize it for consumption by daytrippers from Croydon and tourists from Dallas?

In interviews surrounding the release of the film, young Mr. Bell admitted that he had a great deal in common with the character he played. He, too, hid his love of dance from family and friends for fear of ridicule. Messrs. Lomas, Maguire and Mower say they have been received immense support; however, the BBC did report Mr. Maguire as saying, “Well, you do get some idiots.” To which Mr. Lomas philosophically replied, “That's life.” Revenge is a dish best served cold.

© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.

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