The 300-seat theatre at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, Kansas, will host the 940 Theatre production of Billy Elliot The Musical (BETM). The six performance schedule will take place from February 24 to March 5, 2017.
The Lawrence Arts Center was founded in 1975 as a public and private partnership between the city of Lawrence and citizens who believed that Lawrence should offer the best in arts programming. From its first years in Lawrence’s Carnegie Library Building on 9th Street, the Arts Center has grown to include contemporary exhibitions, arts education, and performances for the community and the region. Under the leadership of founding director Ann Evans, the Lawrence Arts Center moved to its current location at 940 New Hampshire in 2002. The 40,000 square foot building there continues Lawrence’s tradition of public and private support for the arts and embodies its mission of enriching individuals and the community by nurturing love for visual and performing arts for all. And the street number was the inspiration for the name of the producing theatre organization there — 940 Family Theatre.
The building’s facilities include art galleries, a 300-seat theater, a black box performance theater, an arts-based preschool, a digital media lab, and classes in visual arts, theater and film, as well as dance classes for both youth and adults.
Playing the title role for the first time, 11-year-old Peter Dessert leads the largest cast ever assembled for a professional, regional or community theatre production of Billy Elliot The Musical. The 67 members of the cast have been in rehearsal since 12-Jan-2017. The rehearsals were 3-4 hours long Monday–Friday over a six week period, which is longer than most theatre groups rehearse a show, but the longer period is due to the large cast and the complexity of the production.
To learn more about Peter Dessert, click on the Billy Profiles button (below) to be taken to his detailed profile.
To see a complete listing of the rest of the Lawrence Arts Center cast, just click on the Cast Information button.
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