West End - Broadway Transfers - Is the gap narrowing?

Maybe, but so what? You say it like it's a bad thing, but I don't see any problem with it. As someone who loves British theatre, I'm excited when acclaimed productions come across the pond. As much as I'd like to take several trips to London every year to catch all the great shows, not everyone can do that (I took a trip in May, which was my first time going in over 2 years - and that's probably more than most people are able to do!)

JBroadway said: "Maybe, but so what? You say it like it's a bad thing, but I don't see any problem with it. As someone who loves British theatre, I'm excited when acclaimed productions come across the pond. As much as I'd like to take several trips to London every year to catch all the great shows, not everyone can do that (I took a trip in May, which was my first time going in over 2 years - and that's probably more than most people are able to do!)"

I agree with this, but there is a part of me which would like to see a bit of separation - no-one wants both the West End and Broadway to be identical. However, I think the concerns over diminishing identities are primarily based on musicals - I think that things are a little different with plays like Betrayal and Present Laughter, as they are only on for a limited period

P.S I don't want to bring environmentalism into this discussion too much, but we need to find ways to bridge the transatlantic divide without flying back and forth.....

BritCrit said: "no-one wants both the West End and Broadway to be identical. However, I think the concerns over diminishing identities are primarily based on musicals“



I think you’re right about the musicals, but that’s partly because the British don’t write as many musicals as American, and even fewer GOOD musicals. So a lot of our musicals go over there, and what few good original musicals they have often come over here. There is a much bigger difference when you look at plays.

Also, it’s important to remember that Broadway and the West End are the centers of commercial theatre, but that only represents a small portion of the theatre in the respective cities. There is still a thriving non-profit theatre world in both London and New York - especially in London. And there isn’t nearly as much overlap there.

So basically the homogenization you’re talking about mostly only applies to big-budget musicals. But there’s so much more than that available in both cities.

Sometimes West End producers invest in Broadway shows in exchange for the rights to produce it there (and vice-versa), so they want to get it on asap while the buzz is hot. An actor like Hiddleston might have had a Broadway run tied into his deal for the U.K. production, too. The productions wouldn't open simultaneously, because there would be no buzz that way.

Quick transfers have happened before. In 2015, Bradley Cooper's Elephant Man closed in NYC February 21 and began London previews on May 19. The U.S. engagements of Jeremy Irons/Lesley Manville's Long Day's Journey happened immediately after the London run. Same with Renee Fleming's upcoming Light in the Piazza.

What's more impressive is that Betrayal was announced less than 7 weeks from the 1st preview. Not unprecedented (Deaf West's Spring Awakening was announced 9 weeks ahead, and Lady Day was announced one month ahead), but that's a short on-sale period even for a huge star.