The ShowBus Tours Blog » Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot Sets Closing Date

showbus — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:20:45 +0000

After more than 1300 performances and 10 Tony Awards, the hit musical Billy Elliot is set to close on January 8th, 2012.

Billy Elliot is the funny, heartwarming tale of a young boy with a dream of dancing, and a feel-good celebration of his triumph against all odds. The gripping tale was brought to the stage by the original creative team from the feature film of the same name – director Stephen Daldry, choreographer Peter Darling and writer Lee Hall, together with music legend Elton John.

Here’s a little video peek at what’s been drawing crowds and raves to Billy Elliot over these last three years since previews began in October of 2008:

The good news is that there’s still time to see Billy Elliot with us. To book your tour, simply click here.

And that’s today’s ShowBus Buzz. We’ll be back later this week with our next blog update. Please join us then.

The ShowBus Team
http://ShowBusTours.com
info@showbustours.com
(800) 882-6400

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Big Holiday Week On The Great White Way

showbus — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:00:50 +0000

There’s no doubt that these are challenging economic times for many. But you wouldn’t know it to look at last week’s record-breaking holiday box office on Broadway. The two most popular shows – Wicked and The Lion King – brought in more than $4 million between them, setting a Big Apple record. And controversial newcomer, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, raked in almost $2 million last week, despite safety issues that previously landed one cast member (Christopher Tierney) in ICU and lead another (Natalie Mendoza) to depart the show altogether.

Rounding out the top five box office leaders last week, in addition to the three shows above, were Billy Elliot and longtime favorite Mary Poppins. Also enjoying a big holiday week based on theatre capacity were Al Pacino’s The Merchant of Venice, Jersey Boys and Fela!, which played its final performance this past Sunday.

If you’d like to join us to see any of these crowd favorites, it’s as easy as clicking the show name above. We’ll get you to the theatre in the carefree comfort of our deluxe ShowBus motorcoach so that you can make a new year memory that you won’t soon forget!

And that’s today’s ShowBus Buzz. We’ll be back later this week with our next blog update. Please join us then.

The ShowBus Team
http://ShowBusTours.com
info@showbustours.com
(800) 882-6400

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Last Week’s Best On Broadway

showbus — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:19:11 +0000

It was a busy week on Broadway last week and we thought we’d share with you the shows that were the most popular among theatre enthusiasts. There were no real surprises on the list of shows taking in the most money, though The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, is a new entry to that list. Here’s a look at the most popular shows for the week ending April 18th by gross receipts:

Wicked
The Lion King
The Addams Family
Billy Elliot
Jersey Boys

Rating the shows on the percentage of theatre seats filled last week, Wicked, Billy Elliot and The Lion King were all at 97% or better. Rounding out the top five on this list were Denzel Washington in Fences and the Broadway play Red.

If you’d like to see any of these popular shows with us, just click the show name above. We’d love to have you join us!

And that’s today’s ShowBus Buzz. We’ll be back later this week with our next blog update. Please join us then.

The ShowBus Team
http://ShowBusTours.com
info@showbustours.com
(800) 882-6400

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

There's A New Billy Elliot In Town

showbus — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:09:57 +0000

Jacob Clemente

Twelve year old Jacob Clemente is set to take on the starring role in the Broadway smash hit musical Billy Elliot. Clemente is the youngest of nine actors who have taken on the starring spot. He will rotate in the lead with Michael Dameski, Alex Ko, Liam Redhead and Dayton Tavares.

Billy Elliot is the funny, heartwarming tale of a young boy with a dream of dancing, and a feel-good celebration of his triumph against all odds.

Now mind you, this is not the first trip to Broadway for this talented pre-teen. Clemente previously played the role of a Newsboy in the Patti LuPone revival of Gypsy. What’s more, it’s not even his first trip to Billy Elliot, since he previously appeared in the show as Tall Boy.

While his first performance date in this role has yet to be announced, you can bet that all eyes will be on this talented young actor when he makes his starring debut.

To see Billy Elliot with us, click here.

And that’s today’s ShowBus Buzz. We’ll be back later this week for our next blog update. Please join us then.

The ShowBus Team
http://ShowBusTours.com
info@showbustours.com
(800) 882-6400

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Popular Shows, Popular Tickets

showbus — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:18:33 +0000

What’s Hot On Broadway?
We don’t usually cover the business aspect of Broadway on this blog. But a list of the best selling shows of late gives you some idea of the productions that fans are loving. And we thought that might help you make your plans. Here, in order, is a list of the highest grossing shows for the first week of February:

Also worth noting is a show that, while not in the top 5, packed fans in at more than 99% of theatre capacity. That show is A View From The Bridge.

To see any of these popular productions, just click on the name to book your tour with us.

Fantasia’s Back
American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino is on the comeback trail after a difficult stint on Broadway in the role of Celie in The Color Purple. The songstress held down that role from April 2007 until January 2008. And while she received rave reviews for her performance, Barrino missed some 60 performances during her run. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month, Fantasia blamed tumors on her vocal cord for her frequent absences. Some say that those missed shows played a role in the shows eventual closing.

On the comeback trail now, Barrino has her own reality show on VH1 – Fantasia: For Real. She has also released a new single, Even Angels, which she performed during her appearance with Oprah.

Red Sox Tickets!
For those Broadway enthusiasts who are also Sox fans, here’s good news! Regular season Red Sox tickets will be going on sale this Saturday morning, February 20th, at 9 a.m. sharp – online only at our website. The annual Red Sox Big Sale will run from Saturday morning at 9 through Sunday afternoon the 21st at 5 p.m. These tickets go very quickly! For the best selection of games and dates, be there early on Saturday morning.

And that’s today’s ShowBus Buzz. Check back soon for our next blog update.

The ShowBus Team
http://ShowBusTours.com
info@showbustours.com
(800) 882-6400

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

2009 Tony Award Winners

showbus — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:42:40 +0000

The 63rd annual Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 7th, 2009 and the big winner at this year’s show was Billy Elliot which garnered 10 awards, including Best Musical. Other notable winners included Hair for Best Musical, God of Carnage for Best Play and The Norman Conquests for Best Revival of a Play.

Here is a complete list of all the winners:

Best Musical
Billy Elliot

Best Actor in a Musical
David Alvarez, Kiril Kulish and Trent Kowalik
Billy Elliot

Best Actress in a Musical
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal

Best Revival of a Musical
Hair

Best Play
God of Carnage

Best Revival of a Play
The Norman Conquests

Best Actress in a Play
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage

Best Actor in a Play
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot

Best Special Theatrical Event
Liza Minnelli, Liza’s at the Palace

Best Direction of a Musical
Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot

Best Direction of a Play
Matthew Warchus, God of Carnage

Best Original Score
Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (lyrics), Next to Normal

Best Featured Actress in a Play
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Roger Robinson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Best Book of a Musical
Lee Hall, Billy Elliot

Best Choreography
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Paul Arditti, Billy Elliot

Best Sound Design of a Play
Gregory Clarke, Equus

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Ian MacNeil, Billy Elliot

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Derek McLane, 33 Variations

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Tim Hatley, Shrek The Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play
Anthony Ward, Mary Stuart

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Brian MacDevitt, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Best Orchestrations (Tie)
Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, Next to Normal
and Martin Koch, Billy Elliot

And that’s your Tony Award wrap-up for 2009. For any of the titles that are linked above, simply click on the show name to make plans to see it with us at ShowBus Tours!

The ShowBus Team
http://ShowBusTours.com
info@showbustours.com
(800) 882-6400