Final Block of Chicago Tickets Going on Sale

[ERinVA]

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment are announcing, with Broadway In Chicago, that tickets for the final block of BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL in Chicago will go on sale Friday, July 16, 2010. After a successful 10-month run, BILLY ELLIOT will play its final Chicago performance on January 15, 2011. This final block of performances runs from October 26, 2010 through January 15, 2011 and includes popular holiday performances.

http://chicago.broadwayworld.com/articl ... e_20010101

If you have not seen the Chicago show, you really should before it closes. It is excellent!

According to Emily Skinner at the stage door, the current cast is likely to move to Toronto.

[bandaide2012]

I will absolutely be at the closing night performance!!!

[Billy Whiz]

It's just been announced that Billy Elliot will now close in Chicago on November 28th instead of January.

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BI ... 8_20101015

[porschesrule]

Chicago theatre critic, Chris Jones, of the Chicago Tribune, talks about why the early close in Chicago:

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/ ... er+Loop%29

[ERinVA]

Sad to hear that it is closing. I always thought the Oriental was much too big a venue for the show. I think it would have been much more sustainable in a smaller house similar to the VP in London and the Imperial in NY.

Interestingly, many of the Second Tour houses are quite large too, but the advantage there is that the show will not be lingering in any of them for an extended period.

[porschesrule]

Sad to hear that it is closing. I always thought the Oriental was much too big a venue for the show. I think it would have been much more sustainable in a smaller house similar to the VP in London and the Imperial in NY.

Interestingly, many of the Second Tour houses are quite large too, but the advantage there is that the show will not be lingering in any of them for an extended period.

If that is true, one wonders how the show will fare in Toronto at the Canon Theatre, which is almost identical in size to the Oriental in Chicago, with 2295 seats.

[ERinVA]

The reality is that not many cities have a whole array of theatres to choose from, so a tour has to go into the house that the sponsoring organization has at its disposal. I don't know about the situation in Toronto, but I'm sure it's true for some Second Tour cities like Durham and Charlotte, for instance.

[porschesrule]

The reality is that not many cities have a whole array of theatres to choose from, so a tour has to go into the house that the sponsoring organization has at its disposal. I don't know about the situation in Toronto, but I'm sure it's true for cities like Durham and Charlotte, for instance.

I agree with what you said about the larger theaters probably being OK for the 2nd Tour, as the stays will be only 3-4 weeks. But, if the size of the theatre is a factor for the longer stay 1st Tour cities (Toronto is another 7 month run), it just makes one wonder if the size of the theatre was accurately figured in at the time of negotiations, given the state of the present economy.

As the Chris Jones article noted, this is an expensive show to maintain with it's large child cast and all the required support that goes with that. It's imperative they put bodies in the seats if they're going to sustain that long a run.

[ERinVA]

Yes, it is. I hope Toronto will do well in spite of the theatre's large size.

[Todd]

Makes you wonder how "Wicked" was able to last at the Oriental Theater for 5 years. It looks like a pretty expensive production as well, with its lavish sets. Does anybody know if it continued to play in front of big crowds all that time, or did they continue to do the show in front of smaller audiences like they're having now at "Billy Elliot" ?

I do think BETM is a more intimate show that works better from closer up (where a smaller theater would be more appropriate, as has been mentioned here). "Wicked" might have been better suited to a big theater like the Oriental, what with its big production numbers. Having seen both shows though, I just can't get all that fired up about "Wicked." It's not even my favorite Stephen Schwartz show (I prefer "Children of Eden," "Pippin," and "Godspell" over "Wicked," personally).