Some breaking news from the DPAC was officially announced on Friday, and it's a big one for Broadway fans.
"Billy Elliot" -- the very-popular West End and Broadway show, which won nine Tony Awards in 2009 in the stage retelling of the 2000 movie -- is set to kick off its second national tour later this year, following on the heels of the first tour's extended run in Chicago.
And the Bull City will be the host city for the production's on-the-road prep, with what we understand will be a staggering seven week period in residence at the Durham Performing Arts Center.
That run will include set-up and stage prepping at the DPAC as the production adjusts for a long run on the road. The show itself will play from Nov. 2-14, but will make use of the DPAC in preparation for opening night to get the show ready for this national tour.
Quite fitting for a musical set in County Durham, England to be opening its US tour in Durham County, North Carolina, one might say.
It's also a reminder of the power of PFM's Nederlander connections, as the influential Broadway producer has significant pull on steering shows to different venues -- one factor in Raleigh's recent decision to move away from national Broadway productions towards a wider range of programming.
And in a period when business travel is still down, having all that cast and crew in town for nearly two months should be a boon to local hoteliers, too.
The real question: We know Sir Elton John won a Tony for his work writing the musical's score. Now what's it going to take to get the "Rocket Man" down here to spend some time in the Bull City during that long pre-production period, hmm?
The Chicago run and the run that launch in Durham are different tours of the same show. The show that opens in Chicago is the "1st National Tour" and the show that opens in Durham is the "2nd National Tour". The 1st National Tour will play longer runs in the largest cites and the 2nd National will tend to play shorter runs in the Medium sized locales.
You seemed to indicate that the tour that opens in Chicago and the tour that opens in Durham are one and the same, and they are not.
Posted by: BroadwayChris | March 08, 2010 at 06:45 PM