Billy Elliot: The Musical

Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga closes its 2019 season with the Broadway hit BILLY ELLIOT: the musical.  Based on the popular motion picture of the same name, the audience is treated to a gem of musical theatre where we see the power of determination and persistence triumph.  Billy, the son of a mining family struggles in lessons only to discover dance. While his father, brother and the rest of the miner’s union strike against mining companies, Billy struggles to find acceptance in his new passion.  Drawing inspiration from a trio of unlikely women (his dead mother, his senile grandmother and an acerbic ballet instructor), Billy’s journey mirrors the same determination of the union and through Billy, we are able to appreciate potential and embrace compromise in order to find a path to success.

“Several of the shows we choose to produce will tend to mirror our journey as an organization in some way; BILLY ELLIOT is no exception,” mentions Garry Lee Posey who helms this production.  “The music is powerful and emotive, playful and catchy but rife with meaning.”  Elton John penned the score for BILLY ELLIOT; the musical, having previously created the scores for AIDA, THE LION KING, and the short lived musical based on the Anne Rice books called LESTAT. “What is so fantastic about this show for me is that you have this heavy, dirty underworld of miners juxtaposed with the finesse and artistry of a dance that lives more elevated than grounded.  You have tradition and expectation juxtaposed with hope and change.  At the apex of these juxtapositions sits a child, not knowing where to focus but determined to blur the lines defining those differences,” remarks Posey.

In the title role is Dalton native and ETC newcomer Ellis Stephens, a student at Dalton Middle School.  “Working with kids and showing them a new world of creativity through theatre, whether I am introducing them to it or building off of their previous experiences, is such a joy.  This is a beast of a role and he doesn’t take that responsibility lightly.” Joining Ellis is ETC newcomer Dennis Parker as Billy’s father and Kendra Gross as Billy’s Dead Mum and ETC veterans Marianna Allen as the ballet teacher Mrs. Wilkinson and Brenda Schwab as Billy’s grandmother.  Rounding out the largest cast ETC has assembled are newcomers Fields Thomas, Roxanne Gibson, Caelen Austin, Jake Zachery, Kal McClure, Russ Kerr, Tristan Haugh, Josie Julienne, Libby Weaver, Marley Kilgore, and Henley Green along with ETC returning artists Cody Keown, Rodney Strong, Joseph Watts, Eric “Red” Wyatt, Callie Coplen, Megan Smith, Alyssa Whitesell and Jordan Bennett.

Fallon Garret choreographs the show, John Thomas McCecil is the music director, the stage management team includes Joel Sanchez and Eva Fournier.

Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga presents

BILLY ELLIOTT with music by Elton John and book and lyrics by Lee Hall

December  13^th– 21^st  

Tickets are $20 for general admission and $17 on Sunday matinee and Thursday night

Barking Legs Theatre - 1307 Dodds Avenue

423-987-5141 for ticket information

www.ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com