Professor Nancy Allen, coordinator of Belmont’s Musical Theatre Program, travelled to Wilmington, North Carolina this summer to perform as Mrs. Wilkinson in “Billy Elliot” at Thalian Hall.
All three weekends of the performance were sold out and received excellent reviews. More than 7,000 people are estimated to have attended, and the performers received a standing ovation following every show.
Allen was interviewed on the local television talk show, local NPR station and was featured in several local newspapers. She said, “It was wonderful to be in the area long enough to get to know many of the local citizens and to hear how happy they were to welcome a performer from Nashville and Belmont University. I learned so much and experienced a great deal of what my students go through, which will help me continue to be an engaged professor.”
Star News Online wrote, “Nancy Allen, a Nashville actress with a strong voice (her big number, ‘Shine,’ is excellent), is nearly perfect as Billy’s chain-smoking, tough-loving dance instructor Mrs. Wilkinson, the first to see greatness in him. (Her ‘class’ of young dancers are pretty great, as well.)”
