Billy Elliot the Forum

This is going to sound heretical but I have never seen the actual play. However, I have seen the movie of the play with Elliot Hannah and Ruthie Henshall several times and have played the CD score in my car many times. It is truly a great musical that encompasses multiple generations, political idealogies, and different forms of music and dance. I think I have been able to appreciate this all with what I've got. You get to see everything up front on the DVD. But I do understand the need for others to see it in person.....

I'm sure that there are many people, who like you, have come to the world of Billy Elliot the Musical late in the life of the London show, and have become fans of the show because of the Billy Elliot Live DVD.

I don't think you're being heretical at all. However, if you are in the UK, I would say to you that there really is nothing like the experience of being in a seat at a live performance of the show, so you should try to see it on stage, if not at the Victoria Palace, then at one of the venues where the UK tour will arrive during 2016. The tour won't look and feel exactly like the current London show, but I can guarantee that it will still be everything that is the essence of Billy Elliot.

If you are in the US, you will likely be able to see a production at some point that is fairly near to you. We American fans of the show have found that the various versions of Billy Elliot the Musical that have made their way onto the stage since the Broadway show closed, including first the touring versions, and now the regional productions, contribute greatly to the essence of the story in new, inventive, and artistic ways, so I would say to you not to be afraid to go and see one of the regional productions if you have the opportunity.

You can see a variety of productions "up close" on You Tube from a host of countries like Netherlands, S. Korea, Finland, etc. A lot of the material is pirated but it beats sitting the back of the theater with binoculars!
I remember being very disappointed to see many a live theater from afar. Paying a lot more to sit up close is a possibility...expensive one. This a common problem with large productions that probably dates back to Shakespeare's day, and even before.