Billy (musical)
Encyclopedia
Billy is a musical
based on the novel and play Billy Liar
by Keith Waterhouse
and Willis Hall
. The book was written by Dick Clement
and Ian La Frenais
, the music is by John Barry
, and the lyrics are by Don Black.
before moving to the West End
at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
on 1 May 1974 where it ran for 904 performances.
The cast starred Michael Crawford
in the title role, with Bryan Pringle
(Geoffrey Fisher), Avis Bunnage
(Alice Fisher), Christopher Hancock
(Mr. Shadrack), Billy Boyle
, Diana Quick
(Liz Benson), Gay Soper
(Barbara), and Elaine Paige
(Rita). The production was directed by Patrick Garland
with choreography by Onna White
, set by Ralph Kotai, costumes by Annena Stubbs, and lighting by Jules Fisher
. Roy Castle
replaced Crawford late in the run.
and his dreams become reality for him. In one dream, he is in the mythical land of "Ambrosia", where he is its President and also Captain of its football team. In other dreams he becomes both famous dancers Gene Kelly
and Fred Astaire
.
"My Heart Is Ready When You Are", "I Can Make A Difference", and "Why Can't I Feel Something?" were not part of the 1970s production. They were written and added for a revival in the '90s.
"Billy was a brassy, Broadway-style musical, and it took advantage of the services of top-notch American choreographer Onna White. But its trump card was its star, Michael Crawford." Mandelbaum quoted the reviews: "The Daily Mail wrote, 'There is no magic quite like being right there when a star is born,' and that was typical of the raves Crawford received. But his vehicle was equally acclaimed: The Daily Express called Billy 'the most successful British musical since Oliver!,' while The Sunday People called it 'the brightest British musical for years…it's going to hoist brilliant Michael Crawford into the ranks of the superstars.' "
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
based on the novel and play Billy Liar
Billy Liar
Billy Liar is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series. The work has inspired and featured in a number of popular songs....
by Keith Waterhouse
Keith Waterhouse
Keith Spencer Waterhouse CBE was a novelist, newspaper columnist, and the writer of many television series.-Biography:Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
and Willis Hall
Willis Hall
Willis Hall was an English playwright and radio and television writer who drew on his working class roots in Leeds for much of his writings....
. The book was written by Dick Clement
Dick Clement
Dick Clement, OBE is an English writer.Born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, Clement was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and is best known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais. Generally, Clement and La Frenais write comedies, or dramas with a comic tone...
and Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais, OBE, , is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including, The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.They have also written various other work...
, the music is by John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
, and the lyrics are by Don Black.
Production
Billy opened at the Palace Theatre in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
before moving to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
on 1 May 1974 where it ran for 904 performances.
The cast starred Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
in the title role, with Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle was a British actor who appeared in television, film and theatre productions.Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire but raised in the Lancashire town of Bolton he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had...
(Geoffrey Fisher), Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage was a British actress of film, stage and television.She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School in Manchester. She worked as a secretary and a nursery teacher before deciding to become an actress...
(Alice Fisher), Christopher Hancock
Christopher Hancock
Christopher Hancock was a British television and theatre actor. He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. His brother is actor Stephen Hancock. He and his brother trained at the Old Vic theatre school...
(Mr. Shadrack), Billy Boyle
Billy Boyle
Billy Boyle is an Irish actor on British film, television and stage. He is a veteran of the West-End stage having played leading roles in over 15 hit shows. In his first West-End musical "Maggie May" he was nominated as best newcomer. Gower Champion then chose him to play Barnaby in "Hello Dolly"...
, Diana Quick
Diana Quick
-Life:Quick was born in London, England. She grew up in Dartford, Kent, the third of a dentist's four children. She was educated at Dartford Grammar School for Girls, Kent. She was greatly aided by her English teacher, Miss Davis, who encouraged her to pursue acting...
(Liz Benson), Gay Soper
Gay Soper
Gay Soper is an English actress.She is perhaps best known for her performance in the musical Godspell with David Essex, Julie Covington and Jeremy Irons as well as Mme. Thenardier on the Complete Symphonic Recording of Les Misérables. She also performed all the voices for The Flumps, a famous...
(Barbara), and Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
(Rita). The production was directed by Patrick Garland
Patrick Garland
thumb|right|200pxPatrick Garland is a British actor, writer, and director.Garland started Poetry International in 1963 with Ted Hughes and Charles Osborne. He was a director and producer for the BBC's Music and Arts Department , and worked on its Monitor series...
with choreography by Onna White
Onna White
Onna White was a Canadian choreographer and dancer nominated for eight Tony Awards.-Career:Born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, White began taking dance lessons at the age of twelve, and eventually her studies took her to the famed San Francisco Ballet Company, where she danced in the first full-length...
, set by Ralph Kotai, costumes by Annena Stubbs, and lighting by Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher is a lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 200 productions over the course of his 45 year career in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensive work in film, ballet, opera, television, and rock and roll concert tours...
. Roy Castle
Roy Castle
Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
replaced Crawford late in the run.
Plot
Billy Fisher is an undertaker's assistant who daydreams and lies about his life. He wants to leave his dull, middle-class home in YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and his dreams become reality for him. In one dream, he is in the mythical land of "Ambrosia", where he is its President and also Captain of its football team. In other dreams he becomes both famous dancers Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
and Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
.
Musical numbers
- "Ambrosia" — Chorus
- "And" — Alice, Geoffrey, Gran, Billy
- "Some of Us Belong to the Stars" — Billy
- "Happy to Be Themselves" — Billy, Arthur, Company
- "The Witch's Song" — Barbara, Billy
- "Lies " — Barbara, Billy
- "It Were All Green Hills" — Councillor Duxbury
- "Aren't You Billy Fisher?" — Billy, Company
- "My Heart Is Ready When You Are" — Liz, Billy
- "Is This Where I Wake Up" — Billy
- "Billy" — Billy, Liz, Barbara, Rita
- "Remembering" — Alice, Geoffrey
- "Any Minute Now" — Rita, Barbara
- "The Lady from L.A." — Billy, Company
- "I Can Make A Difference" — Liz, Billy
- "Why Can't I Feel Something?" — Instrumental
- "I Missed the Last Rainbow" — Billy
- "Finale, Some of Us Belong To The Star" (Reprise), "Ambrosia" (Reprise)
"My Heart Is Ready When You Are", "I Can Make A Difference", and "Why Can't I Feel Something?" were not part of the 1970s production. They were written and added for a revival in the '90s.
Reception
According to Ken MandelbaumKen Mandelbaum
Ken Mandelbaum is an American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre.Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway musical theatre by his parents and grandparents at an early age...
"Billy was a brassy, Broadway-style musical, and it took advantage of the services of top-notch American choreographer Onna White. But its trump card was its star, Michael Crawford." Mandelbaum quoted the reviews: "The Daily Mail wrote, 'There is no magic quite like being right there when a star is born,' and that was typical of the raves Crawford received. But his vehicle was equally acclaimed: The Daily Express called Billy 'the most successful British musical since Oliver!,' while The Sunday People called it 'the brightest British musical for years…it's going to hoist brilliant Michael Crawford into the ranks of the superstars.' "