The Highland Park Players presented 10 performances in a regional production of Billy Elliot The Musical (BETM) at the Northbrook Theatre in Illinois, from October 21 to November 6, 2016.
Highland Park Players is a non profit organization, founded in 1988 by Susan Haimes, Lois Israel and Donna Lubow, whose mission is to provide accessible, hands-on theatre for the city of Highland Park.
Since the production of Mame in that first season, the Highland Park Players have presented at least one major musical each season, in addition to other plays. Other notable musicals over the years have included Guys and Dolls, Hello Dolly, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Peter Pan, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Footloose, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, The Fantasticks, Annie, 42nd Street, Cats, A Chorus Line and Avenue Q.
The Northbrook Theatre provided another intimate setting for BETM. It has fixed seating for 268; additional seats may be added in front of a fixed seating riser to bring capacity to 320.
The theatre is located within the Northbrook Leisure Center and is the home base for many programs provided by the Northbrook Theatre Department of Performing Arts, which is a program of the Northbrook Park District’s Division of Leisure Services. The facility is also available for rental to community groups in the area, which is the case with the Billy Elliot production by the Highland Park Players.
In the days leading up to the opening of BETM, and as rehearsals continued, members of the cast offered a “sneak peek” of the upcoming show at the annual Port Clinton Art Festival. Here are some highlights:
Credit: Video by Brad Rose
A pair of boys, who made their debuts as Billy in this production of BETM, led the Highland Park Players 30-member cast of local talent. They are Asher Alcantara and Cade Pearlman.
To learn more about The Highland Park Players Billys, click on the Billy Profiles button (below) to be taken to their detailed profiles.
To see a complete listing of the rest of the Highland Park Players cast, just click on the Cast Information button.
Credit: Photo by Brad Rose
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