Netflix, the streaming behemoth that evolved from shipping DVDs in red envelopes to a major player in the entertainment industry, is embarking on a new adventure: producing on Broadway.
The company will earn its first Broadway credit this spring as a producer of “Patriots,” by Peter Morgan, creator of Netflix’s hit series “The Crown.” The new play is about an oligarch who was an early supporter of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but then fell out with him and was fatally wounded.
Even before “Patriots” begins its Broadway previews on April 1, Netflix is already in the early stages of developing a screen adaptation of the story, according to Emily Feingold, a Netflix spokeswoman.
“Patriots” will be Netflix’s first Broadway credit, but not its first stage. The company is actively involved as a producer of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” a play now running in London that is a prequel of sorts to the popular Netflix streaming series. The production of “Stranger Things” is expected to come to Broadway, but the timing and other details are unknown.
Netflix’s foray into Broadway production comes at a time when the entertainment industry is working aggressively to monetize intellectual property — adapting popular titles and franchises to many different platforms, including not only film, television and stage, but books as well. , video games and immersive experiences.
Broadway has long had the attention of Hollywood studios — Disney, Warner Bros. and Universal are particularly active in pursuing stage adaptations of their films. And for some time now, the record industry has been actively involved in Broadway, seeing the stage as another way to redefine pop song catalogs.
Now the new players are showing signs of interest in the theater industry, which continues to struggle to recover from the pandemic.
Audible, a subsidiary of Amazon, leases a theater in Greenwich Village — Minetta Lane — and regularly stages plays there and records the performances for release on its audio app. The company this week will stage its first musical, “Dead Outlaw,” which tells the true story of an American outlaw whose body became a carnival exhibit.
And A24, the independent film studio, said last year that it had acquired the Cherry Lane Theater in the West Village, adding that it planned to use the building for live theater and film programming, but gave few details.
Netflix has reason to feel bullish about “Patriots.” In addition to “The Crown,” his six-season series about Queen Elizabeth II, Morgan has had success on stage with historical dramas including “Frost/Nixon” and “The Audience.”
“Patriots,” based on the life of Boris A. Berezovsky, was written long before the death this month of another Putin critic, Alexei A. Navalny, but Navalny’s death is sure to make it more timely.
The play, which is scheduled to open April 22 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, also comes with a record. It has already had two screenings in London — a non-profit production in 2022 at the Almeida Theater and a commercial production last year in the West End — that Netflix wasn’t involved with but gave company executives a chance to see. Reviewing the original production for The New York Times, critic Matt Wolfe called it “thrilling”.
The Broadway production will star Michael Stuhlbarg as Berezovsky. Will Keen will play Putin, reprising a performance that won him an Olivier Award last year. The production is being capitalized for up to $8 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Netflix has also shown its interest in theater in other ways: It has brought a number of stage production adaptations to the screen, including the musicals “The Prom,” “Matilda,” “13” and “Tick, Tick… Boom! » and the plays ‘The Boys in the Band’ and ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’. Netflix also turned to streaming performances of the musical “Diana” and the “Springsteen on Broadway” concert.
The stage productions of “Stranger Things” and “Patriots” share a lead producer in Sonia Friedman, a London-based impresario who regularly produces in both the West End and Broadway. Friedman is no stranger to working with big intellectual property brands and major entertainment companies — she’s also one of the top producers on “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
