Why do we have so many London 'stars' opening on Broadway?

Perhaps not being as familiar with the West End as Broadway I may be bias but does it seem like we have an influx of west end 'stars' coming to Broadway but not the reverse?

To be clear I am not referring to genuine stars like Elaine Paige, but people like Alexander Hanson in NIGHT MUSIC, the leads in the recent revival of SUNDAY, the lead guy in GHOST where (although they probably turn out great performnces) they could easily be replaced with more exciting 'local talent'.

What Broadway performers have been 'traded' to the West End for these performers?

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Updated On: 2/23/12 at 07:12 PM

Tyne Daly in Master Class.

Sorry, missed the star part... What about Boyd Gaines going in Driving Miss. Daisy with his "star" co-actors?

Two of the actors in Master Class transferred over with Tyne Daly for the West End production. One Man Two Guvnors are transferring the main cast all on Equity Exchange but Gatz is coming over in June with its original cast so its like for like. Don't Dress for Dinner has Ben Daniels and Adam James who are British actors, Venus in Fur has Hugh Dancy although I imagine if Venus transferred to the West End, they'd bring over Nina Arianda.

Maybe it has to do with who the people involved think is best-suited for a role? Katie Finneran was hardly a star (at least, by this thread's limited definition) when she opened Fuddy Meers in the West End, but Sam Mendes (whose company was producing) was adamant about wanting her. I've heard that Redgrave and Jones were pretty vocal about wanting Gaines to come over to London with the production. Conversely, I think a lot of the buzz around the recent Sunday revival had to do with the performances of the two leads, which is why they were brought over but the entire supporting cast was American.

As others have pointed out, this thread's definition of "star" is questionable. Tyne Daly is a star--because she's familiar from television, I assume--but Boyd Gaines is not? I'd say Boyd Gaines is definitely a star in the world of theatre, which is precisely what we're talking about here.

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You're right, of course and as usual, AC.

But I don't think I want to live in a world where Katie Finneran is not a star.

In this case, I think a "star" counts as someone who is well known in both New York and London and probably doesn't require an exchange of actors or some other special agreement between Actors Equity and British Equity. That doesn't mean they aren't considered stars at home, though.

To answer henrikegerman's question - Boyd Gaines became the first actor to be nominated in all four categories in 2008. Raul Esparza did it in 2009, Angela Lansbury in 2010 and Jan Maxwell will most likely do it this year.

Updated On: 2/24/12 at 12:30 PM

Thanks, theatreguy, I had the feeling he wasn't alone anymore, and he certainly didn't hold the title alone very long. Certainly, Maxwell is about to make it a gang of four.

Also, I expect Audra may soon enough ace a leading role in a play and at least get a nomination.

The Equity Exchange system is rigorously observed. So no one is missing out.

And Chicago was lucky enough to get Samantha Spiro in A Little Night Music.

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Sorry themysteriousgrowl. In the context of this thread the difference between a star and a 'star' to me, is that a star's name on a marquee will sell tickets and a 'star's' won't.

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Updated On: 2/24/12 at 03:36 PM

IIRC Jonathan Pryce and Michael Crawford were considered stars when they reprised their roles of the Engineer and the Phantom whereas Lea Salonga and Sarah Brightman weren't.

Yeah, and a big stink was made over Lea Salonga because she was neither British nor American.

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Miss Saigon is an interesting one because they didn't want Jonathan Pryce either as they were wanted an Asian actor to play the Engineer. In a recent documentary, Cameron was asked by a member of AEA why he cared who was cast in the show as it was going to be a hit anyway, he rightly told them to bugger off!