Billy Elliot to Launch National Tour in Chicago in 2010

Billy Elliot, winner of 10 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical, will launch a national tour in Chicago in March 2010. The show has been booked into the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre in what is being billed as “an extended run,” with multiple cities to follow. Dates, additional cities and casting will be announced at a later date.

“The three and a half year run of Wicked paved the way for us to consider Chicago for an extended production,” producer Eric Fellner said in a statement. Composer Elton John added, “Chicago has always been one of my favorite cities to play, and it is my distinct pleasure to share this show that I love so much with a city that has always been very kind to me.”

Billy Elliot is the 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. The show opened at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre on November 13, 2008, directed by Tony winner Stephen Daldry.