Wheelock Family Theatre (WFT) is a professional Equity theatre, located on the campus of Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts, and is one of the Greater Boston area’s premier theatre companies serving children and families, with professional, affordable theatre that appeals to people of all ages.
It will be the home of a regional production of Billy Elliot The Musical (BETM) from January 27 to February 26, 2017.
The theatre was founded in 1981 by Andrea Genser, Anthony Hancock, Susan Kosoff, and Jane Staab with the endorsement and support of the Wheelock College President, Gordon Marshall. In the years since its founding, the theatre has staged more than 100 mainstage productions — from classic children’s shows like Charlotte’s Web or Pippi Longstocking, to family-friendly musicals like Peter Pan and The Sound of Music, to thought-provoking dramas like To Kill a Mockingbird that deal with issues of interest and concern to young people. According to the Boston Business Journal, Wheelock Family Theatre is the fourth largest theatre company in Boston, ranked by attendance. Its productions have been seen by more than a half-million people.
BETM at the Wheelock Family Theatre
Wheelock’s cast for BETM will be led by a young man with a wealth of previous experience in BETM — Seth Judice. Seth has previously played Michael, Billy’s best friend, in the regional production of the show at the Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, Tennessee, for 16 shows in August, 2015. Since then, Seth “graduated” into the title role of Billy in regional productions of the show at the Beck Center for The Arts, in Lakewood, OH (July 2016) and, most recently, at the Phoenix Theatre in Phoenix, AZ (December 2016).
Credit: Photo by Glenn Cook Photography
Shane Boucher, who will play Billy’s best friend Michael for most shows in this production, also comes to the Wheelock stage with previous BETM experience. Shane starred as Michael in the Palace Theatre (Manchester, NH) production of the show in June, 2016. Shane will be the Billy understudy in the Wheelock Family Theatre production of BETM and debuted as Billy in a few scheduled shows during the 18-show (that are open to the general public) run in Boston.
Other members of the cast/crew with previous experience in a production of BETM include:
- Caroline Workman, who was a ballet girl/swing in the Broadway production, and will play Lesley/Woman 3/ensemble. She is also the ballet girl dance captain.
- Sound designer Eric Norris worked on the North Shore Music Theatre production.
- Choreographic consultant Rachel Bertone was choreographer for the Ocean State Theatre production.
- Several of the ballet girls have performed as ballet girls in other regional productions, including Joey Gold, Zoe Stewart, Haven Periera, and Tessa Bigelow.
To learn more about Seth Judice, click on the Billy Profiles button (below) to be taken to his detailed profile. Note: Shane Boucher makes his debut as Billy on 18-Sep-2017. His Billy profile can also be found by clicking on the “Billy Profiles” button.
To see a complete listing of the rest of the Wheelock Family Theatre cast, just click on the Cast Information button.
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