Young Billy, growing up in a coal mining town in northern England, doesn’t take to boxing lessons and instead is drawn to ballet.
Billy’s father and older brother, engaged in the strike as members of the union, struggle to understand and support Billy’s passion for dance — at a time when the survival of their town and their livelihood is at stake.
I saw the show in Chicago this summer and now the Hennepin Theatre Trust is presenting “Billy Elliot” through Jan. 9 at the Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis. Tickets are $33-$133.50 ($20 for students with valid ID). Tickets are available in-person at the State Theatre box office, by phone at 1-800-982-2787, or online at www.hennepintheatretrust.org.
Notes from the playbill:
“In 1984, the British National Union of Mineworkers went on strike to save the coal industry from the threatened closures of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was politically opposed to state-owned industry and determined to crush the union.
“The strike went on for one year. The miners’ families had to survive on handouts from other working people who supported their stand. But by employing riot police to intimidate their communities and importing coal from Eastern Europe, the Conservative government broke the unions. Over the subsequent 10 years, the entire industry collapsed.
“The story of ‘Billy Elliot’ takes place in the coal fields of Northern England, where mining had been the major employer for hundreds of years. In 1984 more than 300,000 men worked in the mining industry; today there are less than 1,000. More than 98 percent of the coal used for British energy is now imported from abroad.”
“Billy Elliot” is a touring show, but some of the musicians playing in the live orchestra will be local musicians who are members of Twin Cities Musicians Union Local 30-73.
IATSE Stagehands Local 13 has 20+ stagehands and wardrobe workers supporting the show (and all shows at the State, Orpheum and Pantages Theatres). Also, the load-in and load-out will employ more than 80 Local 13 Stagehands daily.
Steve Share edits The Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Learn more at www.minneapolisunions.org
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Young Billy, growing up in a coal mining town in northern England, doesn’t take to boxing lessons and instead is drawn to ballet.
Billy’s father and older brother, engaged in the strike as members of the union, struggle to understand and support Billy’s passion for dance — at a time when the survival of their town and their livelihood is at stake.
I saw the show in Chicago this summer and now the Hennepin Theatre Trust is presenting “Billy Elliot” through Jan. 9 at the Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis. Tickets are $33-$133.50 ($20 for students with valid ID). Tickets are available in-person at the State Theatre box office, by phone at 1-800-982-2787, or online at www.hennepintheatretrust.org.
Notes from the playbill:
“In 1984, the British National Union of Mineworkers went on strike to save the coal industry from the threatened closures of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was politically opposed to state-owned industry and determined to crush the union.
“The strike went on for one year. The miners’ families had to survive on handouts from other working people who supported their stand. But by employing riot police to intimidate their communities and importing coal from Eastern Europe, the Conservative government broke the unions. Over the subsequent 10 years, the entire industry collapsed.
“The story of ‘Billy Elliot’ takes place in the coal fields of Northern England, where mining had been the major employer for hundreds of years. In 1984 more than 300,000 men worked in the mining industry; today there are less than 1,000. More than 98 percent of the coal used for British energy is now imported from abroad.”
“Billy Elliot” is a touring show, but some of the musicians playing in the live orchestra will be local musicians who are members of Twin Cities Musicians Union Local 30-73.
IATSE Stagehands Local 13 has 20+ stagehands and wardrobe workers supporting the show (and all shows at the State, Orpheum and Pantages Theatres). Also, the load-in and load-out will employ more than 80 Local 13 Stagehands daily.
Steve Share edits The Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Learn more at www.minneapolisunions.org