Can Elton John work his Broadway magic on "Billy Elliot: The Musical"?

Billy Elliot: The Musical is one of the most eagerly anticipated Broadway shows of the year, and it's easy to see why. In case you don't remember Billy's story, here's a quote from the musical's site:

BILLY ELLIOT is a funny, heart-warming and feel-good celebration of one young boy's dream in a gripping tale of triumph over adversity. Based on the enormously popular film, this powerful new musical is the story of a boy who discovers he has a special talent for dance, while the boys all around him are more interested in boxing. An unprecedented smash in the West End, where it has won 9 Best Musical awards, broken UK box office records and continues to sell out nightly, BILLY ELLIOT has been created by the film's director (Stephen Daldry), writer (Lee Hall) and choreographer (Peter Darling), who are joined by music legend Elton John one of the most celebrated pop songwriters of the last 30 years. On October 1, 2008, BILLY ELLIOT lands on Broadway.

Elton has had a mostly successful track record when it comes to Broadway, with one notable exception. His biggest success remains his first, the stage adaption of The Lion King, which debuted in 1997. It won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and is still running over 11 years later. The following year he scored another hit with Aida, which ran for four years and won four Tonys, including Best Original Music Score for Elton and lyricist Tim Rice.

And then there's Lestat. The musical, based on Anne Rice's horny vampire, opened to much fanfare on April 25, 2006 ... and closed on May 28, 2006, after just 39 performances. The reviews were dreadful, with the New York Times calling it a musical sleeping pill. Ouch.

Hopefully, Elton has put the memory of that mini-Carrie behind him, and he can charm us once again with Billy Elliot, which has already been a huge hit all around the world. After the break, you can see a clip from this week's CBS News on Logo where Sir Elton talks about the project and its special resonance for gay audiences.