Will The Real Billy Elliot Please Step Forward?!
September 4, 2009
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Who is the real Billy Elliot? Is there even a real Billy Elliot? Well, according to well-built Fife council worker, Ken McCombie, 55, the real Billy Elliot was none other than – himself! The burly middle-aged bloke has surprised his workmates by stating that he was in fact the original Billy Elliot. “People don’t believe me when I tell them I used to be one of the best male ballet dancers in the world,” said Ken.
The uncanny similarity between Ken’s life story and was uncovered when his council bosses asked workers for interesting tidbits about their pasts, to feature in their in-house magazine. Among the coincidences are the fact that Ken and the fictional Billy both lived in coal mining communities and were forced to put up with abuse and taunts for their passion for dance. “My story is exactly the same as Billy Elliot’s; we both come from coal-mining backgrounds and had to endure some pretty bad bullying to achieve our dreams. Older boys were always trying to pick on me and call me a sissy and my family were always worried about me, but I never let it get me down and just ignored the taunts.”
Ken currently works in procurement and risk management at Fife Council, but he once won a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dance and even danced alongside Russian ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev!
Ken was initially awarded a scholarship with the Royal Academy of Dance in Edinburgh. He studied there before leaving to dance with the London Festival Ballet in 1972. This was his big opportunity and he took it gracefully. Ken spent six years dancing in London before relocating to Houston, Texas. There he danced for world-renowned dignitaries and royalty, including Norway’s King Olaf V and US president George Bush Snr. Ken remembers, “I went on tour with my idol Nureyev. I worked with Cleo Laine and met people like Shirley MacLaine, Patrick Swayze and Larry Hagman. I hope, just like Billy Elliot, my story can help inspire boys to give ballet a go.”
It is highly doubtful that there’s another out there who quite fits the bill like Ken McCombie! When you buy your Billy Elliot Broadway tickets give a little thought to Ken – the real Billy Elliot!
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Billy Elliot Broadway Welcomes Budding NYC Playwrights
September 4, 2009
It’s not just Billy Elliot Broadway that’s attracting them to the Imperial Theatre this summer; Movie and music icon Queen Latifah recently hosted a gala event at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre, home of the Tony-nominated production of the Billy Elliot Musical. Months of rigorous playwriting and production development went into the Fidelity FutureStage Finale, which marked Broadway debuts for six different student-written plays. In all, over 1,000 New York City area students participated in the 2009 program, which was a huge success. Queen Latifah said, “I am thrilled to help them celebrate a night they’ll always remember.” Six plays were selected from work entered by the 10 schools participating in the year-long Fidelity FutureStage school program. The event honored Madeline Hendricks, the overall winner of the Fidelity FutureStage Playwriting Contest, a joint effort by Fidelity Investments and Billy Elliot the Musical to bring out more creative playwriting from New York area schoolkids. Hendricks, 17, from Mamaroneck High School in Westchester, NY, triumphed through her comedy play, “Driver’s Education”. The play covered the life of an over-talkative New York cab driver who, together with his daughter and various passengers, swapped some fundamental life lessons as the coasted through the streets. “Driver’s Education” was staged at the Imperial Theatre, home of Billy Elliot the Musical, on June 15, 2009.
Billy Elliot in Chicago!
July 29, 2009
The big news is that Billy Elliot is coming to Chicago! That’s right, the story of the English lad and his dancing odyssey will be pitching up in the Windy City in March 2010. The producers of the Tony-Award-winning musical say Billy Elliot Chicago will open at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, and will embark on a run described as “extended”. This is fantastic news for those who’ve been hoping Billy Elliot would come to Chicago. The precise dates and other details, such as the choice of cast, will be revealed in due course, but the important thing is that the Billy Elliot musical score is heard in another of America’s and other cities. Billy Elliot features a score by Elton John, said to be among the very best in theatre today. The musical is based on a much-loved film about a British coal miner’s son who dreams to dance. Billy Elliot London and Billy Elliot New York have both proved enormous successes, and Billy Elliot Chicago is sure to follow!
Billy Elliot Sells Tickets, Wins 10 Tonys, Conquers World…
June 24, 2009
Billy Elliot proved its true worth in June 2009 when the production garnered 10 Tony Awards, much to the delight of those connected to it. The British musical is selling out all performances and the world is learning fast about the coal miner’s son who harbors ambitions to dance. It’s a long-deserved public justification that has Broadway tipping its hat. Recognition of this type is always welcome and it raises the spirits of an entire production’s cast, so expect Billy Elliot to get even better! Winning 10 Tonys is only the beginning, most people believe, as the show is tipped to go down in world theater history as one of the very best – a modern classic, no less. Among the awards Billy Elliot won were best musical and best actor, collected by the three youngsters who play Billy in this production.
The trio’s acceptance speech was a shy affair, which only served to endear audiences even more to them. David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish – the three young men who play the title character – acknowledged siblings and parents along with various mentors and influential cast and stage-set members. Kulish set the Radio City Music Hall crowd alight when he said to them, “We want to say to all the kids out there who might want to dance, ‘Never give up.’”
Billy Elliot’s eight other awards included director of a musical, book of a musical and choreography. Composer Elton John was surprisingly beaten to best score, though. That award went to “Next to Normal” – another fast-rising production that is tipped to pull in some serious crowds this year. In fact, the Broadway scene is becoming enriched all the time, with West Side Story tickets and God of Carnage tickets making the news recently. But Billy Elliot tickets are the king of the moment, and who would deny this awesome production its moment in the Broadway limelight?