LIVERMORE FALLS — Regional School Unit 36 directors voted Thursday to approve a trip for the high school humanities program to go to New York to see “Billy Elliot, The Musical” on April 15-16.

The participants in the after-school program chose the musical about a young boy growing up in a coal mining town in northern England, said Anne Weatherbee, one of three organizers. The play is set in tough economic times when there is a union strike, but Billy Elliot’s father still finds the money to send him to boxing lessons, Weatherbee said.

There are 49 Livermore Falls High School students registered for the trip and nine faculty members, teacher Susan St. Pierre told school board members from Livermore and Livermore Falls. The cost of the tickets were $114 each at the group rate, she said.

The group will travel by a Northeast Charter and Tour Co. bus at a cost of $3,725. They are soliciting donations from area businesses and individuals to help cover transportation costs.

The bus leaves at 6 a.m. Thursday, April 15 for New York and will return the following morning about 7 a.m. They will have a chance for some sightseeing and dinner before the show, St. Pierre said.

Staff members volunteer their time for planning and implementing the after-school sessions each participant is required to attend. The sessions begin Wednesday, March 17, with an introduction to “Billie Elliot.”

“We’re
going to do a parallel,” Weatherbee said, of the International Paper
mill strike in Jay in 1987. Participants will interview parents,
grandparents and others about their experience. The three remaining sessions will focus on group research and project development, group presentations and a New York Night to plan their trip to the Big Apple.

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