Open Auditions for BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL Held 9/12, 9/13 at the Lou Conte Dance Studio

Billy Elliot the Musical will hold open auditions for boys and girls on Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13, 2009 at the Lou Conte Dance Studio (1147 W. Jackson, at Racine). The 2009 Tony Award-winning Best Musical will begin performances in Chicago March 18, 2010 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre.

Open auditions for boys will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2009 and open auditions for girls will be held Sunday, September 13, 2009. Both auditions will have sign up beginning at 10 a.m. at Chicago's Lou Conte Dance Studio (1147 W. Jackson, at Racine). Those auditioning should be age nine to 12 and be a maximum height of 4-feet 10-inches. Boys should possess strong dance, ballet and/or tap skills and have unbroken voices; suggested attire for the boys is comfortable clothing and sneakers. The show is looking for girls, with strong tap and good ballet, in a variety of sizes and shapes with expressive character and lots of personality. Suggested attire for girls auditioning is dance clothing. Both boys and girls should bring tap, ballet and jazz shoes, a recent photo and a resume. Girls should bring sheet music to sing. All ethnicities are encouraged to attend. More information may be found at http://www.bebilly.com/.

Billy Elliot the Musical opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre (240 West 45th Street) on November 13, 2008 to critical acclaim. Billy Elliot was the winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical; Best Book of a Musical (Lee Hall); Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish); Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Gregory Jbara); Best Direction of a Musical (Stephen Daldry); Best Choreography (Peter Darling); Best Orchestrations (Martin Koch); Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Ian MacNeil); Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Rick Fisher); and Best Sound Design of a Musical (Paul Arditti). The production was the recipient of a total of 35 awards including being named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle.

Billy Elliot the Musical is the funny, heartwarming tale of a young boy with a dream, and a celebration of his triumph against the odds. Set against the historic British miners' strike of the 1980s, the story follows Billy's journey as a boy in a small mining town who, after stumbling across a ballet class while on his way to a boxing lesson, realizes that his future lay not in the boxing ring but on stage as a dancer.

Billy Elliot the Musical is presented by Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment, based on the Universal Pictures/Studio Canal film. Producers are Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn and Sally Greene. Angela Morrison and David Furnish are Executive Producers. The production features music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling, direction by Stephen Daldry, scenic design by Ian MacNeil, costume design by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch.

Tickets are currently on sale to groups of 15 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. The Broadway In Chicago 2010 spring/summer Subscription Series including Billy Elliot the Musical will go on sale in September 2009. Single tickets will go on sale to the general public in November 2009, and range in price from $28-$100. A limited number of premium seats will also be available.