Billy Elliot the Forum

Jaxson Cook is one of the three Billys in New Zealand.

http://asbbillyelliot.co.nz/cast.html

Broadway dreams step closer for talented Hutt boy

https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/c ... --hutt-boy

From the Stuff.co.nz {I could not copy the page ref}

As 13-year-old Jaxson Cook heads off for his first day of high school, one thing sets him apart from his classmates - he'll be in New York in a few months, learning the ins and outs of Broadway.

The Hutt Valley High School student was attending a Broadway Dreams boot camp in Auckland when he found out he'd earned a spot at a top theatre programme in New York.

During the final showcase held on January 21, they called three people, including Jaxson up on stage, and announced them as recipients of a scholarship to a Broadway Dreams camp.
"I basically just freaked out," Jaxson said, "I wasn't expecting it and then I had to go straight back on stage to do a solo performance."

READ MORE:
* Students chase Broadway dreams
* Hutt boy leaps into Billy Elliot stage role
* Budding Broadway star set to shine on New York stage

The teen has been singing and dancing from the womb, dad Rodney Cook said.

He has an extensive collection of show programmes - some of which have been signed by the cast.

He's no stranger to the stage either. When he was nine years old, he won his first role as Kurt von Trapp in the London Palladium's Kiwi production of The Sound of Music.

Since then, he's also played a starring role in 2016's Billy Elliot the Musical, put on by the Auckland Theatre Company.

He doesn't know what draws him to the theatre - in his own words, "I just love it".
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"I've wanted to be up on Broadway since the Sound of Music and [since] I discovered musical theatre."

His favourite musical is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a show he hoped to perform in one day.

First night nerves are never a problem for the budding performer either.

"When I'm in auditions, I'm definitely nervous, but not in productions."

He's got his sights set high and plans to have a career on Broadway and hoped working with the professionals at the Broadway Dreams programme would be a stepping stone for him.

There would be a chance to win a theatre school scholarship through the programme and show business agents were known to check out new talent at the camp.

Jaxson comes from a show business family - mum Hils Cook is a makeup artist and has most recently been working with actress Evangeline Lily on Marvel's Antman sequel. Dad Rodney is a stuntman and has worked on several Peter Jackson films.

- Stuff

Here's the link to the article:

https://i.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/cap ... --hutt-boy

Here's an update on what Jaxson is up to these days, along with information about his relationship with Barbie star Margot Robbies:

https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/news/real-l ... tion-47686