Daldry Talks 'BILLY', Broadway and THE READER on Bloomberg TV

BLOOMBERG TELEVISION® program "Night Talk," host Mike Schneider welcomed Stephen Daldry, the director of the Golden Globe nominated film "The Reader" and the mega hit musical Billy Elliot to his program yesterday, January 7th, the segment is now available online.

Daldry chats about directing Billy Elliot. "I was going; well I don't know how this is going to go down. Genuinely, I mean it was a surprise that the audience really took to it as strongly as they did and we go the reaction we did and it's doing fantastically which is also still surprising."

He also discusses the high ticket prices on Broadway. "I think people are finding those ticket prices too high, I think that the investors for new show are difficult to find and I think that the impact of the economic crisis will continue to be felt particularly on Broadway. If the costs don't come down, I think there is a real risk there won't be a Broadway. I think the ticket prices have to come down and if the ticket prices need to come down to get the audience in, then everything else has got to work accordingly."

The director also gives his view about the difference between West End and Broadway Theater. "The main difference to stage work in New York is that it's more expensive. It's more expensive to create and it's more expensive to see and that's a problem, and I think there will have to come a time when it's actually cheaper to produce and cheaper to see - I hope that's true anyway"

To watch the interview on "Night Talk" click here.

Billy Elliot officially opened at Broadway's Imperial Theatre last night, Thursday, November 13th. With music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry, this joyful musical lighting up Broadway eight times a week!

Directed by Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot has played over 1,300 performances and recently celebrated its 3rd anniversary in London. Billy Elliot the Musical opened at London's Victoria Palace in May 2005 to unanimous critical acclaim. The production went on to sweep London's nine awards for Best Musical, including the Olivier, Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. In London, Billy Elliot has now been seen by over 1.5 million people and has grossed over £65 million. The musical opened to equal acclaim at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Australia in December 2007. The two current productions have played to over 2.3 million people.

"Night Talk" airs in the U.S., Europe and Asia on Bloomberg TV at 10PM on weeknights and is simulcast on Bloomberg Radio at 10PM. Bloomberg Radio is broadcast on 1130AM in the New York Metropolitan area and is available on XM and Sirius. The Friday night Show re-airs over the weekend Sat at 8:00-9:00pm, 10:00-11:00pm and Mon 12:00am - 1:00am.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.