Note: Cole’s final show as Billy in the Croswell Opera House production of Billy Elliot the Musical (BETM) was on June 25, 2016.
Debut: June 11, 2016 (Croswell Opera House, Adrian, MI)
Total Performances as Billy: 4 (No partial shows)
Cole Carrico was 13-years-old (D.O.B. = 7-Nov-2002) when he debuted as Billy in the Croswell Opera House production of BETM. Cole lives in Adrian, MI, where he attends Adrian Middle School. His hobbies include singing, playing soccer and hanging out with his friends.
Cole’s dance training has taken place at Encore Dance Studio, where he has learned hip hop and ballet. He also takes voice lessons, taught by Michael Yuen.
Cole is a veteran performer at the Croswell Opera House, having already performed in numerous shows there. These include:
- Jaq in Cinderella, Kids (Feb 2013)
- Hansel/Ensemble in Shrek (June 2013)
- Pongo in 101 Dalmatians (Aug 2013)
- Ensemble in White Christmas (Dec 2013)
- Boy in Oliver! (June 2014)
In June 2015 Cole played the role of Michael Banks in the Croswell’s production of Mary Poppins, as pictured below:
Cole’s most recent credit at the Croswell Opera House was in December 2015 when he played the leading role of The Nutcracker in The Story of the Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The picture below shows him in this role:
Credit: Photo by wePhoto
Cole’s most exciting theatrical role came in October 2014 when the national Broadway tour of Camelot came to the Stranahan Theater in Toledo, OH, and he was one of two boys chosen to share the role of Tom of Warwick. Cole had to submit an audition video in order to try out for this role. This video is shown below and gives a taste of his acting skills:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V0DY_gQrm8
Credit: Video by Cole Carrico
Cole’s Billy journey started when he successfully auditioned for the role at the Croswell Opera House. He was then introduced to the other Billy and their understudy in late March. After a trip away for spring break, Cole was excited to jump right into rehearsals when he returned in early April.
These early rehearsals focused on vocals and learning the dance for Expressing Yourself. They then gradually worked on all the big dance numbers, and finally learned Angry Dance. Cole was rehearsing so much that he managed to wear through his ballet shoes in just a few weeks! Cole’s favorite part of rehearsals was learning to fly for Dream Ballet, and he says that he enjoys being onstage and having fun with friends in the show.
When he made his debut as Billy on June 11, 2016 Cole became the 147th actor worldwide to play the role.
Credit: Photo by the Croswell Opera House
For more information about Cole visit:
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