Emily Skinner to Join BILLY ELLIOT on Broadway 10/2

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment announced today that Tony® Award nominee Emily Skinner, currently starring as 'Mrs. Wilkinson' in the first national touring production of Billy Elliot the Musical in Chicago, will join the Broadway company on October 2, 2010. Kate Hennig will play her final Broadway performance on October 1, 2010 and will return to her home town to launch the Toronto engagement of Billy Elliot, which begins performances at the Canon Theatre on January 28, 2011.

Emily Skinner was nominated for a Best Actress TONY Award for the Original Broadway Production of Side Show. Other Broadway credits include the original casts of Jekyll & Hyde, James Joyce's The Dead (with Christopher Walken) The Full Monty, Dinner at Eight (Outer Critics Circle nomination, Drama League Award). NATIONAL TOUR: Billy Elliot, Disney's On the Record. OFF-BROADWAY: Jerry Springer The Opera (with Harvey Kietel) at Carnegie Hall, City Center's Encores: No Strings, Pardon My English, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Broadway Bash; Actor's Fund performances of Dreamgirls and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, leading roles at the WPA Theater, Playwright's Horizons, Manhattan Theater Club, York Theater, The Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden. REGIONAL: leading roles at The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, McCarter, Long Wharf, The Old Globe, Ford's Theater, St. Louis MUNY, TheaterVirgina, Hangar Theater. IN CONCERT: numerous Broadway By The Year concerts at Town Hall (as director and performer), New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Pittsburgh Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, Merkin Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Symphony Space. RECORDINGS: numerous cast albums and audio books, Duets, Unsuspecting Hearts, Skinner/Ripley Raw at Town Hall (all with Alice Ripley),Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, The Stephen Sondheim Album, Wall to Wall Sondheim, Believe: The Songs of The Sherman Brothers, The Stephen Schwartz Album, animated feature Anastasia, and her self-titled solo CD (amazon.com).

Billy Elliot the Musical winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical features music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and direction by Stephen Daldry.

Billy Elliot is the joyous celebration of one boy's journey to make his dreams come true. Set in a small town, the story follows Billy as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class, discovering a surprising talent that inspires his family and his whole community and changes his life forever.

Tickets for Billy Elliot the Musical range from $41.50 to $141.50, and can be purchased at the Imperial Theatre Box Office (240 West 45th Street) or by calling Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200 or visiting www.Telecharge.com. The playing schedule for Billy Elliot through Labor Day is as follows: Wednesday - Saturday at 8pm, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm and Sunday at 7:30pm.

Billy Elliot the Musical is produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn and Sally Greene. Angela Morrison and David Furnish are Executive Producers. The production features scenic design by Ian MacNeil, the associate director is Julian Webber, costume design by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch.

For tickets and information visit www.BillyElliotBroadway.com