Old Vic Confirms Loss For Chicago/Toronto Production

[porschesrule]

Old Vic Productions (OVP), a company that co-produces and invests in shows from the West End to Broadway, has revealed a full-year pre-tax loss of £630,423 for 2010 after it decided to close one of the American tours of Billy Elliot the Musical.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... -tour.html

[ERinVA]

I wonder how much of that loss could be attributed to Chicago. I have had the impression that it was doing better in Toronto, but it might not have been able to make up for the Chicago run.

[ERinVA]

Which means? I assume they carried the Chicago loss over into 2011 and have continued to run at a defecit.

[ERinVA]

Thanks for the explanation.

[eaglegray]

I have a simple question, but perhaps there is no simple answer: How is it that the London (and New York?) Billy Elliot can run for years, but Toronto has such a relatively short run? Is it just a matter of population, and maybe tourist numbers?
Very sad to see it go. I'd like to see it again, but am unable to before the September closing.

[ERinVA]

Chicago was really the problematic part of this, or so I gather. The show just did not draw the large audiences that had been expected there. From all accounts, the Toronto stop has been filling the house pretty well, but the losses in Chicago knocked a hole in the bottom of the bucket, so to speak.

[ERinVA]

Thanks for that response, shimmyshimmy. I think you have hit very close to the bullseye with your assessment. There is nothing comparable to London's West End and New York's Broadway out there in the world at the moment.

[eaglegray]

I wonder if another factor in the relatively short Toronto run is the problem of 'replacement Billys.'
I mean, its boy stars are a unique and precious commodity in professional theatre. And as we all know it is crucial to the role that the Billys and Michaels are indeed young boys, who look and sound, and sing (treble) the part believably.
I read somewhere, near the beginning of BETM's inaugural London production, some years ago, that when it was evident that the show was wildly popular, Stephen Daldry and the producers conceived the idea of establishing a specially 'dedicated' kind of training 'school' for prospective Billys. The reasons for this were twofold, as I understand it: One, was that they believed if the show were to continue, possibly for years, that it would be impractical, and perhaps even impossible, to be casting new lead boys on a piecemeal basis; the other reason I think had to do with getting around the very strict 'child labour' laws in the U.K., which only allow for so many hours of work over certain periods of time, etc.
Consequently, there is a kind of Billy Elliot 'theatre training school' somehow associated with the London production. And with a kind of semi-official 'institution' like that in place, the producers are free to constantly replenish the 'school' with any number of talented young boys, who, at the right age and level of ability, can take over the part at any given time. And it's clear that replacement needs can, of course, be unpredictable, given the vagaries of puberty and voice changes.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have such a thing in place in Toronto? Not just to foster the indefinite continuation of this magical production, although that is reason enough. But also to play a part in promoting and developing high levels of musical theatre talent in young boys. The display of these soulful talents in young boys -- classical dancing and acting and singing -- is the great miracle of BETM. Young girls have their own outlets, and indeed have stronger support systems for such expressions. It is young boys who are more needful of support, who need more outlets for the wondrous gifts that some of them naturally possess (although, of course, only a blessed few possess to a prodigious degree).
And I feel that society so desperately needs, and will greatly benefit from, the encouragement of artistry and soulfulness in young boys.
I have felt strongly about this for a long time, perhaps due to the joy derived from my own experience as a professional boy treble many years ago.

[kport]

I wonder if another factor in the relatively short Toronto run is the problem of 'replacement Billys.'
I mean, its boy stars are a somewhat unique and precious commodity in professional theatre. And as we all know it is crucial to the role that the Billys and Michaels are indeed young boys, who look and sound, and sing (treble) the part believably.
I read somewhere, near the beginning of BETM's inaugural London production, some years ago, that when it was evident that the show was wildly popular, Stephen Daldry and the producers conceived the idea of establishing a specially 'dedicated' kind of training 'school' for prospective Billys. The reasons for this were twofold, as I understand it: One, was that they believed if the show were to continue, possibly for years, that it would be impractical, and perhaps even impossible, to be casting new lead boys on a piecemeal basis; the other reason I think had to do with getting around the very strict 'child labour' laws in the U.K., which only allow for so many hours of work over certain periods of time, etc.
Consequently, there is a kind of Billy Elliot 'theatre training school' somehow associated with the London production. And with a kind of semi-official 'institution' like that in place, the producers are free to constantly replenish the 'school' with any number of talented young boys, who, at the right age and level of ability, can take over the part at any given time. And it's clear that replacement needs can, of course, be unpredictable, given the vagaries of puberty and voice changes.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have such a thing in place in Toronto? Not just to foster the indefinite continuation of this magical production, although that is reason enough. But also to play a part in promoting and developing high levels of musical theatre talent in young boys. The display of these soulful talents in young boys -- classical dancing and acting and singing -- is the great miracle of BETM. Young girls have their own outlets, and indeed have stronger support systems for such expressions. It is young boys who are more needful of support, who need more outlets for the wondrous gifts that some of them naturally possess (although, of course, only a blessed few possess to a prodigious degree).
And I feel that society so desperately needs, and will greatly benefit from, the encouragement of artistry and soulfulness in young boys.
I have felt strongly about this for a long time, perhaps due to the joy derived from my own experience as a professional boy treble many years ago.

There is indeed a sort of quasi-school in London for the Billys, Michaels, Tall and Small boys, though I am not sure about the Ballet Girls. It is centred around the 'Billy House' which could best be described as a sort of boarding house in a prep school. The concept of young performers being educated this way while keeping up with performance requirements is hardly unique to London or many other cities: St. Paul's and Westminster (RC) Cathedrals, and Westminster Abbey, all maintain boarding prep schools so that the choristers can be educated around the performance schedule. Even NYC has such as establishment: St. Thomas Fifth Avenue maintains a boarding school purely for choristers. As do most cathedrals throughout the UK. As such, choir schools are entirely used to accommodating the educational schedule around the needs of the performing schedule. As a residential facility (I am not sure about the educational side) the Billy House would have to conform to very strict social services regulations and would almost certainly be inspected by OFSTED and/or social services. It would not be inexpensive to run but it would be less than having everyone housed in flats or at home, and traveling in. Just the commute from, say, Staines to Victoria would take several hours out of an otherwise very long day for these young performers. A Billy House as a base for the child players makes a lot of sense over a long period of time.

There is a tradition where young performers on the West End, and even choristers of the Chapels Royal in London, at one time were boarded and/or educated at a local independent school which, I believe, was The City of London School. If a long-stay city such as Toronto were to see a need to create a Billy House for the child actors, it could approach an existing independent school for appropriate ages, such as Upper Canada College, so see whether the Billys/Michaels could have a residential/tutoring programme provided for them. However, since it is evident that a production can take up stakes and leave a city quite suddenly, I doubt schools would want to be burdened with this; hence for Toronto the present arrangement is probably best. A more practical idea for a long stay would be to establish a Billy House in conjunction with the National Ballet School on Jarvis Street. There is no doubt a symbiotic relationship between BETM and the Ballet School that benefits both.

Regarding replacement Billys, the Billy Youth Theatre system in the UK is an absolute hotbed of new talent to draw from. Imagine each year the producers of the West End play have the opportunity to work and train dozens - even scores - of enthusiastic Billys and Michaels and Ballet Girls drawn from acting schools and groups all over Britain. I would imagine this contact remains one if the best sources for new talent; it also keeps the London production within the sight of clusters of kids, parents, teachers and communities throughout Britain and engenders great, great enthusiasm for BETM.

[CJ-Rochester]

I don't think finding replacement Billys was the issue for Toronto. We have already seen two new Billys debut in Toronto this year. Plus they would probably use the same NYC-based "Billy camp" source to develop new Billys if/when needed.