“Rather than an optimistic message that ‘dreams come true,’ it’s a story about the process a person must go through to live as themselves.” (Lee Ji-young, domestic associate director)
The musical “Billy Elliot” has remained popular 21 years after its premiere, drawing a cumulative global audience of 12 million. In South Korea, it returns for its fourth season, meeting audiences again after five years. What keeps the show enduring?
Lee said at a press call on April 29 at Blue Square in Seoul’s Yongsan district that the work is “a struggle and determination to find myself against oppression,” adding that “most of the characters, not only Billy, show that.”
The message is echoed by Mrs. Wilkinson, who teaches Billy ballet, and by Billy’s mother’s final words: It matters to know who you are, and to protect yourself. The number “Solidarity,” which crosscuts the miners’ strike with Billy learning ballet, makes that point most clearly.
Lee called “Solidarity” — often cited as one of musical theater’s greatest 12 minutes — a scene that suggests the workers’ fight and Billy’s artistic drive share the same roots. Lee also said the child actors who play Billy trained “with blood, sweat and tears” for a year and a half, adding that their effort matches the character and gives the production a “documentary-like authenticity.”
The journey toward finding oneself, the production argues, is sustained by love and sacrifice. The adults’ devotion to Billy heightens the emotional impact.
Oh Min-young, domestic associate music director, said there is a saying that it takes a whole village to raise a child, and that the show carries a similar idea. As a child moves toward the future with a dream, Oh said, the adults “sacrifice themselves and send the child off with love,” and that spirit brings deep emotion.
The process of staging “Billy Elliot,” the production team said, mirrors that theme: Completing the show requires growth and care from everyone involved.
Actor Choi Jung-won, who plays Mrs. Wilkinson, said the children who play Billy can only take the stage at that age, making it a role that cannot simply be promised again. She said the adult cast, including herself, grows alongside the child actors during rehearsals and performances.
Choi said she performs each show as if it were closing night. “Because of the Billys, I came to feel, ‘There’s a show today, but today could be the last,’” she said.
As the cast shares that growth, Choi said, affection follows naturally. Saying she is “always falling in love” with the Billys, she added that she puts that feeling into the final line, “Never come back — start again there.”
Choi said she hopes the children — who could become ballet dancers, actors or musicians — will find happiness on stage through the role, just as she does. “This stage is full of love,” she said. “Everyone is making this show with love, and at the center of that love are the child actors playing Billy.”
The production runs at Blue Square’s Woori Bank Hall through July 26.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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