Billy Elliot: A London Musical Hit on Broadway

After 3 1/2 years on the West End, the best British musical since Miss Saigon makes its way to America

David Scheinmann

Kiril Kulish is one of three actors alternating in the title role.

Britain and America, to paraphrase the old saw, often seem like two countries divided by a common theater. Big hits on the London stage are just as likely to fizzle as they are to thrive when they immigrate to the U.S. On the one hand, the low-key Brits seem far more wowed than Americans by a certain brand of over-the-top, kitschy production — from Saturday Night Fever (hit in London, flop on Broadway) to We Will Rock You, the daft Queen musical from London that couldn't get any farther than Las Vegas in the States. At the same time, the specific...

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