5 Oct 2011

Hit musical to close after three years

9:00 pm on 5 October 2011

Hit musical Billy Elliot is to close on the New York stage next year, three years after it began its Broadway run. The last performance of the show will be on 8 January.

With music written by Sir Elton John, the production has been seen by an estimated 1.65 million people in New York. It won 10 Tony awards in 2009.

A tour across the United States is due to continue and the BBC reports the London stage version will remain open.

The original production in the West End opened in 2005 and won three Laurence Olivier awards the following year.

The musical is based on a 2000 film about a miner's son who finds escape in ballet.