Backstage with Billy Elliot’s Will Chase, Talkin’ Scotch and Lovely Ladies

Broadway charmer Will Chase is making his latest turn on the Great White Way as Billy’s somewhat less than supportive older brother Tony in Billy Elliot. Backstage at the Imperial Theatre, Chase ticked off his dressing room necessities, and they are every inch the manly musts you’d expect from his coal miner character, with a dash of Broadway star thrown in. With a stockpile of caffeine (helpful as he preps to moonlight in Bells Are Ringing at Encores!), protein shakes and Scotch on hand, Chase loves everything about his dressing room except that “there’s no room in it!” Below, take a peek inside his cozy home away from home.

Photos by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com



“Coffee, coffee, caffeine and coffee. Coffee gets me through the first act of Billy Elliot. And it’s always Starbucks."


"Post-show, Greg Jbara, Joel Hatch and I enjoy the Macallan 12-year-old single malt scotch. It’s very fancy. Joel sometimes likes Irish whiskey—after the show, never during—but usually we enjoy the Macallan. It’s the way we roll."


"Joel Hatch and Greg Jbara might argue that this is the most important thing I own, because Tony has messy hair, but to make it look that messy you have to have a lot of product. We enjoy Crew Fiber and the Freezing Hairspray Megahold Styling Mist. That hair doesn’t move."


"These are my ladies, my little girls Daisy and Gracie and my wife Stephanie. I talk to them before the show, because I love them and I don’t always get to see my ladies. Stephanie and I live together, but we can go days without seeing each other sometimes, because we’re very busy people on the Broadway."


"My protein drinks are very important to me, because without them I would fall over and I wouldn’t be able to be mean to Billy onstage. They give me muscles."