Billy Elliot Welcomes Philip Whitchurch to Cast; Gregory Jbara to Take Leave of Absence

British actor Philip Whitchurch will make his Broadway debut as Dad in the Tony Award-winning musical Billy Elliot, stepping in for original cast member and Tony Award winner Gregory Jbara. Whitchurch begins performances on January 26, and is set to appear through May 2. Jbara, who is taking a leave of absence from the show after a run of more than a year, will return on May 4.

Whitchurch previously played the role of Dad in the London cast of Billy Elliot. Additional credits include A View From the Bridge at the Queens Theatre; Women of Troy at the National Theatre; 'Tis Pity She's a Whore at the Young Vic; An Inspector Calls at the Garrick Theatre; The Changing Room at the Duke of York Theatre; and Keeping Body and Soul Together and Othello at the Lyric Hammersmith. Film credits include Einstein & Eddington, Beowulf & Grendel, Wondrous Oblivion, Three Blind Mice, Punchbag, Shot Through the Heart, Treasure Island, The English Patient, Blue Ice, To Kill a Priest and Half Moon Street.

Billy Elliot currently stars Mike Dameski, Alex Ko, Trent Kowalik, Liam Redhead and Dayton Tavares as Billy, Kate Hennig as Mrs. Wilkinson, Gregory Jbara as Dad, Carole Shelley as Grandma, Will Chase as Tony and Trevor Braun and Jake Evans Schwencke as Michael.

Billy Elliot follows one boy’s journey to make his dreams come true. Set in a small town, the story follows Billy as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class, discovering a passion that takes him by surprise and takes his whole family on an uplifting adventure.