Stephen Daldry News

Let's start at the very beginning… the award-winning North Shore Music Theatre (NSMT) is alive with THE SOUND OF MUSIC as the treasured musical takes the stage for the first time since 1989. Opening Tuesday, June 11 and playing through Sunday, June 23.

While a visit from the Queen of England is something few of us could ever dream of experiencing, it would be nearly as big a pipe dream to imagine rubbing elbows with Hollywood and theatre royalty like Helen Mirren - yet, that is precisely the wish that 10-year-old cancer patient Oliver Burton expressed and the starry substitute player he received.

BY Experience announces the donation and installation of high tech digital projector equipment for their partners at The Actors Fund. The equipment will allow the residents of The Lillian Booth Actors Home to enjoy all National Theatre Live theatrical programming, beginning with The Audience on Friday, June 14.

Today, 13 May 2013, 12 year old Ali Rasul from Hartlepool, will become the thirty-third boy to play Billy Elliot in the West End. Now in its ninth year at the Victoria Palace Theatre where the show is currently booking to 21 December 2013, Billy Elliot the Musical last month was awarded its fifth Laurence Olivier Award - the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award voted for by the theatregoing public. Also in April, Billy Elliot the Musical welcomed its 4 millionth patron to the Victoria Palace Theatre. Scroll down for photos of Rasul in action!

Alex Ko: From Iowa to Broadway, My Billy Elliot Story, the celebrated debut novel by Alex Ko that was endorsed by Sir Elton John, was released last week from HarperCollins Children's Books. The hardcover novel (and e-book edition) is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold. To kick off a general public release of the memoir, Barnes and Noble (corner of 82nd Street and Broadway, NYC) just hosted a Q&A and book signing with Alex Ko on May 9. The event will also benefit The Calhoun School. Moderating the Q&A was Stephen Daldry, the Tony Award winning Director of Billy Elliot the Musical. Check out photos from the event below!

BILLY ELLIOT performed at the San Diego Civil Theatre from April 30th - May 5th, 2013. BWW's correspondent, Audra Stafford has a behind-the-scenes look at some of the cast. Watch the video below!

Alex Ko: From Iowa to Broadway, My Billy Elliot Story, the celebrated debut by Alex Ko that was endorsed by Sir Elton John, was released last week from HarperCollins Children's Books. The memoir (and e-book edition) is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold.

Universal Stage Productions, Working Title Films, Old Vic Productions and NETworks Presentations, LLC announced today, in association with Time for Fun (T4F), that the North American Tour of Billy Elliot the Musical will travel to South America for a limited three-week engagement from Friday, August 2, to Sunday, August 18, at Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil. Based on the international smash-hit film and featuring music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, direction by Stephen Daldry and choreography by Peter Darling Billy Elliot the Musical has earned critical acclaim around the world and was the winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical.

The network has tapped Lisa Cholodenko (THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT) to direct the four-hour project, with Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins to star.

Since 2007, Alex Ko, who performed in the title role of Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical on Broadway, has been involved in various charities. His most recent work has been serving as the spokesperson for Broadway Kids Care, founded by Lou and Kelly Gonda. Broadway Kids Care is an organization to bring together children from current and past Broadway shows while allowing them the opportunity to perform community service. After leaving the title role in Billy Elliot, Alex began to write his inspirational story and has just released his book, Alex Ko: From Iowa to Broadway, My Billy Elliot Story through HarperCollins.

It's time for the 2013 Olivier Awards - we'll be updating live with all the winners in all the categories!

I first reviewed the national tour of BILLY ELLIOT - THE MUSICAL during its triumphant five-week stop at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre a year ago (which you can read HERE) and found it to be quite an entertaining, well-executed show. Now an entire year has passed and the show has finally returned to Southern California, this time playing at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through April 28. Does it still hold up? In a special guest column, Robert Neale offers 'A Second Opinion' Review.

CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS is a new musical which will premiere at Riverside Studios in London from 4 to 14 July for 10 performances only.

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films Old Vic Productions and NETworks Presentations, LLC bring the multi-award-winning Billy Elliot the Musical to Segerstrom Center for the Arts from tonight, April 16 - 28, 2013.

Amphibian Stage Productions today announced additional National Theatre Live screenings for 2013, presented in association with the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Productions of The Audience, starring Helen Mirren, and Othello, broadcast from London, will follow the previously announced screenings of This House in the fourth season of this critically acclaimed series.

Last night (11 April 2013), the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical welcomed its 4 millionth patron to the Victoria Palace Theatre. At the end of the performance Sharon Hick from Yorkshire and her party were invited up on stage by Deka Walmsley who plays Billy's Dad. Killian Donnelly who plays Billy's brother Tony escorted them to the stage to great applause from the sell-out audience.

From 13 May 2013 Anna-Jane Casey will join the West End cast of Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre to play Billy's dance teacher Mrs Wilkinson. Also joining the cast are Kevin Wathen as Billy's brother, Tony, Howard Crossley as George and Alexander Loxton as Older Billy.