Emily Skinner to 'Shine' in Chicago's Billy Elliot
Tony Award nominee Emily Skinner has signed on as Mrs. Wilkinson in the upcoming Chicago production of Tony Award-winning Best Musical Billy Elliot. The tuner takes the Ford Center/Oriental Theatre stage beginning March 18, with opening set for April 11.
Skinner joins previously announced rotating title stars Tommy Batchelor, Giuseppe Bausilio, Cesar Corrales and John Peter Viernes. Also featured are Armand Schultz as Dad, Cynthia Darlow as Grandma, Patrick Mulvey as Tony, Keean Johnson and Gabriel Rush as Michael, Samuel Pergande as Billy's Older Self, Jim Ortlieb as George, Susie McMonagle as Mum, Blake Hammond as Mr. Braithwaite and Maria Connelly as Debbie. The cast is completed by Matt Allen, Jason Babinsky, Chicagoan Elijah Barker, Madison Barnes, Cindy Benson, Sara Brians, Chicagoan Tony Clarno, Abby Church, Christine DeFillipo, Alexandra Dell'Edera, Faith Fetscher, Susan Haefner, Ryan Kasprzak, Chicagoan Kayla King, Kent Lewis, Will Mann, Kate Marilley, Spencer Milford, Brittany Nicholas, Chicagoan Mark Page, Mitch Poulos, Emily Richardson, Annelise Ritacca, Mason Roberts, Michaeljon Slinger, Jaclyn Taylor Ruggiero, Jamie Torcellini, Nicholas Torres, Brionna Trilling and Kayla Vanderbilt.
Skinner's Broadway credits include Jekyll & Hyde, Side Show (Tony Award nomination), James Joyce's The Dead, The Full Monty, Dreamgirls, Dinner at Eight and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Off-Broadway, she has been seen in Watbanaland, James Joyce's The Dead, My Life with Albertine and Fanny Hill.
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. Featuring music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and direction by Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot opened at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre on November 13, 2008 and was the winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards.
