''Billy'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

based on the novel and play ''

Billy Liar ''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a Billy Liar (film), film, a Billy (musical), musical and a Billy Liar (TV series), TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popul ...

'' by

Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse Order of British Empire, CBE (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. He was also a noted arbiter of newspaper style and journalisti ...

and Willis Hall. The book was written by

Dick Clement Dick Clement (born 5 September 1937) is a retired English writer, director and producer. He became known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais for television series including ''The Likely Lads'', ''Whatever Happened to the Likely La ...

and

Ian La Frenais Ian La Frenais (born 7 January 1937) is a retired 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?'', ' ...

, the music is by John Barry, and the lyrics are by Don Black.

Productions

''Billy'' opened at the

Palace Theatre, Manchester The Palace Theatre is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its sister theatre the Opera House on Quay Street are ope ...

, before moving on 1 May 1974 to the West End at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

, where it ran for 904 performances. The cast included

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...

in the title role, with

Bryan Pringle Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2003) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in television, film and theatre productions. Life and career Born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, he was brought up in the Lancashire town ...

(Geoffrey Fisher), Avis Bunnage (Alice Fisher), Christopher Hancock (Mr. Shadrack),

Billy Boyle Billy Boyle is an Irish actor and singer on British film, television and stage. His recording career included five 45rpm singles for the Decca and Columbia labels, including the novelty song "My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Elvis" (Decca F 11503) in 1 ...

, Diana Quick (Liz Benson),

Gay Soper Gay Soper is an English actress and singer. Her career includes singing ''Turn Back, O Man'' in the original 1971 London production of ''Godspell''. She sang the role of Madam Thenardier on the complete symphonic recording of ''Les Misérables ...

(Barbara), and

Elaine Paige Dame Elaine Jill Paige (born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff, 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, m ...

(Rita). The production was directed by

Patrick Garland Patrick Ewart Garland (10 April 1935 – 19 April 2013) was a British director, writer and actor. Career Garland was educated at St Mary's College, Southampton, and St Edmund Hall, Oxford where he studied English and was Literary Editor of Is ...

with choreography by

Onna White Onna White (March 24, 1922 – April 8, 2005) was a Canadian choreographer and dancer, nominated for eight Tony Awards. Early life and career Born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, White began taking dance lessons at the age of twelve, and eventu ...

, set by Ralph Kotai, costumes by Annena Stubbs, and lighting by

Jules Fisher Jules Fisher (born November 12, 1937) is an American lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 300 productions over the course of his 50-year career of Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensiv ...

. Roy Castle replaced Crawford late in the run. The first revival and reimagining of Billy was staged at the Union Theatre in London in June 2013. The production received rave five-star reviews under the staging and direction of Michael Strassen, who won Best Director at the Off West End Awards 2013. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', awarding it five stars, wrote: "Michael Strassen's feisty, intelligent, sensationally well lit (by Tim Deiling) production... The first act is extraordinary and the second, like Gypsy's, tapers off into mere brilliance."

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

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

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 Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team. In other dreams he becomes ''both'' famous dancers

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

and

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

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 1990s.

Reception

According to theatre critic Ken Mandelbaum, "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, Ke
CDs: Some of Us Belong to the Stars"
broadway.com, December 15, 2004

Recording

The Original Cast recording was released by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

(70133) on May 1, 1974..castalbumcollector.com, retrieved March 21, 2010

References

External links

''Billy'' synopsis and songs at guidetomusicaltheatre.com

''Billy'' on Floormic.com
{{Authority control 1974 musicals Musicals based on novels Musicals based on plays British musicals West End musicals Musicals by John Barry (composer) Musicals by Don Black (lyricist) Musicals set in England Adaptations of works by Keith Waterhouse