![]() In a piece called Director’s Vision, prepared by Goodspeed Musicals to outline Barre’s thoughts about BETM at the theatre beside the Connecticut River, Barre explains, “One of the main reasons I was excited about directing this production at Goodspeed Musicals was that we are not doing a replica production of the show, but creating our own set design, costume design, lighting design, and, especially, all new choreography by Marc Kimmelman.” Director Gabriel Barre, left, with set designer Walt Spangler, talks through scene changes with cast members of “Billy Elliot The Musical,” while using Spangler’s scale model of the set/ Credit: Photo by Goodspeed Musicals The show will be directed by Gabriel Barre, who has previous experience directing BETM, having helmed the production of the musical in Mexico in 2017. To see the whole season’s offerings, here a short video:īilly Elliot The Musical at Goodspeed Musicalsīilly Elliot The Musical, the fall production on the Goodspeed Opera House stage, will be presented from Sep 13 to Nov 24, 2019. The 2019 season at Goodspeed, like every year, includes a mixture of new and established musicals. Throughout the year, and intensively during the winter months, Goodspeed addresses issues unique to the field by offering innovative theatre education programs. Among millions who know and love this art form – and those who appreciate its history and enduring appeal – Goodspeed is widely recognized as “The Home of the American Musical”. Each year, thousands of actors, directors, choreographers, and technicians aspire to come to Goodspeed to practice their craft. Well-known icons of the theatre world are attracted to work on shows there, while simultaneously fostering emerging talent among composers, lyricists, and librettists. ![]() They pride themselves in standing at the forefront of producing and preserving the American musical, simultaneously reinventing the classics and inventing new ones. ![]() Today, Goodspeed mounts both new and newly revived musicals each year on its main stage at the Opera House and on its second stage in Chester – a total of more than 400 performances during the April to December season, attracting 130,000 patrons to the Connecticut River Valley. Goodspeed stands as the first regional theatre in America to earn two special Tony Awards, one in 1980 for outstanding contributions to the American musical and a second in 1995 for distinguished achievement for a regional theatre. In its history, the organization has produced over 250 musicals, including over 70 world premieres, and exported 21 productions to Broadway. They were also intent on adding to the repertoire by discovering and nurturing promising new musicals presented at both the Opera House and the Norma Terris Theatre in neighboring Chester. At first, Goodspeed’s commitment was to discover rarely produced musicals, reworking them and bringing them to life. Under the direction of Michael Price from 1968 to 2014, Goodspeed transformed from a struggling entity into a non-profit arts organization with a mission. Goodspeed dates its beginnings to 1963 when it opened its doors as a professional musical theatre in an historic building (originally built in 1857) on the banks of the Connecticut River in East Haddam, CT. Since 1968, sixteen productions that originated at the theater have gone on to play on Broadway, and Goodspeed productions have won more than a dozen Tony awards.The 357 seat Goodspeed Opera House Theatre (some seats with obstructed views in the balcony), home to Billy Elliot The Musical (BETM) from 13-Sep to 24-Nov, 2019. The Goodspeed Opera House reopened in 1963 and continues to operate today as a theater. In 1959, concerned residents formed Goodspeed Musicals in order to restore the building and bring back theater performances. After Goodspeed died in 1926, the Second Empire-style building fell into disrepair and was used for a number of purposes, including as militia base during World War I and a Department of Transportation storage facility. Designed by Jabez Comstock and built by local businessman William Goodspeed, the building’s main floor served as a store, office, and steamship docking point, and the top two floors served as a venue for live performances. On October 24, 1877, the Goodspeed Opera House on the Connecticut River in East Haddam officially opened to the public with the productions of Charles II, Box and Cox, and Turn Him Out.
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