The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment is balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the 1984–1985 miners' strike in County Durham, in North East England.

[15] On 28 September, the matinee of the musical was broadcast as it was being filmed at the Victoria Palace Theatre to cinemas around the UK and other countries, with further encore screenings of that same performance on other dates.

[16] In addition, 25 past and present actors to have played the title role on the West End performed a specially-choreographed dance number at the finale.

This cast includes Elliott Hanna in the title role with Ruthie Henshall as Mrs. Wilkinson, Deka Walmsley as Billy's dad, Chris Grahamson as Tony and Ann Emery as Grandma.

[25] The adult cast featured Kelley Abbey as Mrs. Wilkinson, Justin Smith as Billy's dad, Vivien Davis as Grandma and Drew Livingston as Troy.

[28] The supporting cast included Haydn Gwynne, reprising her role of Mrs. Wilkinson from the London production, and Gregory Jbara as Billy's father.

[citation needed] The second Spanish language production began previews on 22 September 2017 at the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá in Madrid, and officially opened on 5 October 2017.

The musical opened in Chicago on 18 March 2010 in previews, officially on 11 April, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre for an extended run.

Audience members at the Oriental Theatre in the Loop had reported an almost-empty balcony at some shows, and weekday attendance had been as low as 900 or so people.

The most critical review was one published in the National Post: "The signal achievement of Billy Elliot the Musical is to be even phonier than the movie it's based on.

[50] The title role was shared by Giuseppe Bausilio, Michael Dameski, Kylend Hetherington, Lex Ishimoto, and Daniel Patrick Russell.

The cast also included Faith Prince as Mrs. Wilkinson, Rich Hebert as Billy's father, Griffin Birney and Jacob Zelonky alternating the role of Michael, Patti Perkins as Grandma, Jeff Kready as Tony, and Joel Blum as George.

[51] As a promotion for the tour, Daniel Patrick Russell and Griffin Birney performed a special showcase on the television game show The Price Is Right.

The tour went on hiatus after playing its final performance in North America at Hartford, Connecticut on 23 June 2013, before transferring to Brazil for a limited engagement at the Credicard Hall in São Paulo from 2 to 18 August 2013.

[58] Included among the cast were Tade Biesinger as Billy, Emily Skinner as Mrs. Wilkinson, Daniel Oreskes as Dad, and Patti Perkins as Grandma, all reprising their roles from the original Broadway production.

[61][62] Kevin Haugan played the title role with Hilde Lyrån as Mrs. Wilkinson, Nils Ole Oftebro as Billy's dad and Benjamin Helstad as Tony.

Among the cast were Dutch musical actress Pia Douwes as Mrs. Wilkinson, Bas Heerkens as Billy's father, and Reinier Demeijer as Tony.

The cast included actress Julie Steincke as Mrs. Wilkinson, Kristian Boland as Billy's father, and Sebastian Harris as Tony.

Among the cast were Sabrina Marciano as Mrs. Wilkinson, Christian Roberto as Michael, Luca Biagini as Billy's father, Cristina Noci as Grandma, Donato Altomare as Tony, Elisabetta Tulli as Mum, Jacopo Pelliccia as George and Maurizio Semeraro as Mr. Braithwaite.

Billy was alternately played by Grim Lohman, Oliver Lohk and Jacob Hermansson and Michael by David Fridholm, Carl Sjögren and Uno Elger.

Among the cast were Åsa Fång as Mrs. Wilkinson, Lars Väringer as Dad, Rasmus Mononen as Tony, Paul James Rooney and Robert Thomsen playing the role of Older Billy.

With this focus, Billy Elliot has the position of being "the first mainstream British entertainment to directly interrogate homophobic prejudice as a function of patriarchal society.

[77] The message of strength in unity is assisted by emotive and colloquial lyrics, producing audience affect as the empowered everyday working men fight ardently against the British government.

Michael persuades Billy to have fun with him by dressing up in woman's clothing, rejecting the restrictive inhibitions of their working class community ("Expressing Yourself").

Billy's father gets drunk and sings an old folk song that elicits memories of his deceased wife and the usually stoic man leaves in tears ("Deep Into the Ground").

Mrs. Wilkinson offers to help pay for the trip to London for the next audition, but Jackie refuses and leaves, questioning his working-class pride and the future mining has for his boys.

When Tony sees his father cross the picket line, he becomes infuriated and the two argue over what is more important: unity of the miners or helping Billy achieve his dream ("He Could Be A Star").

Back in Durham, the Elliots resume life, but times are tough and the miners are running a soup kitchen to ensure everyone is fed.

Eventually, Billy receives a letter from the school and, overwhelmed and fearful, knowing that it heralds the end of the life he has known, informs his family that he was not accepted.

James Lomas, George Maguire, and Mower also jointly received the Theatre Goers' Choice Award in 2006 for Newcomer of the Year.