They are "The Stars Look Down," "Shine," "Grandma's Song," "Solidarity," "Expressing Yourself," "The Letter (Mum's Letter)," "We Were Born to Boogie," "Angry Dance," "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher," "Deep Into the Ground," "Dream Ballet/Swan Lake," "He Could Be a Star," "Electricity," "Once We Were Kings," "The Letter (Billy's Reply) (Reprise)" and "Finale." Emotional, endearing, plot moving and character driven, the songs themselves take inspiration from the British working class of the 1980's and dutifully reflect the tensions, frustrations and observations of the times and the County Durham populace. Written by Elton John (music) and Lee Hall (lyrics), the musical score for "Billy Elliot: The Musical" features 16 individual musical numbers.
From rehearsal hall to stage, Barre's determined vision not only reflects the well-intentioned conceit of the show's originator's, but cements the liberal humanity of the play text, its exhilarating simplicity and its triumph-over-adversity machinations most engagingly. The individual stories and the emotions expressed by every one of the characters is calibrated brilliantly with a page-turning power and balance that keeps the production airborne with nary a glitch, a hiccup, a halt or a stumble. Pacing is everything in this invigorating telling and Barre doesn't waste a single moment.