Netflix, the streaming giant that has evolved from mailing DVDs in red envelopes to a hugely important player in the entertainment industry, is embarking on a new adventure: producing on Broadway.
The company will have its first Broadway credit this spring as a producer on “Patriots,” from Peter Morgan, creator of Netflix’s hit series “The Crown.” The new play tells the story of an oligarch who was an early supporter of Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, but then fell out and died.
Netflix spokeswoman Emily Feingold said the company was already in the early stages of developing a film adaptation of “The Patriots,” even before it opened on Broadway on April 1st.
“Patriots” will be Netflix’s first Broadway production, but it is not its first stage production. The company is actively involved as a producer on the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, currently playing in London, a prequel of sorts to his popular Netflix streaming series. A production of “Stranger Things” is scheduled to open on Broadway, but the timing and other details are unknown.
Netflix’s foray into Broadway productions comes as the entertainment industry aggressively seeks to monetize its intellectual property, which is popular across a variety of platforms including film, television, and stage, as well as books, video games, and immersive experiences. It took place at a time when the series was adapting titles and franchises.
Broadway has long attracted the attention of Hollywood studios, with Disney, Warner Bros., and Universal particularly active in adapting their films to the stage. And for some time now, the record industry has been actively involved in Broadway, seeing the stage as another way to repurpose its catalog of pop songs.
Now, new players are showing signs of interest in the theater industry, which continues to struggle to recover from the pandemic.
Audible, an Amazon subsidiary, rents a theater on Minetta Lane in Greenwich Village where it regularly stages productions and records shows for release on its audio app. This week, the company will present its first commissioned musical, “Dead Outlaw,” about the true story of an American bandit whose corpse became a carnival specimen.
Independent film studio A24 also announced 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 providing few details. There wasn’t.
There’s a reason why Netflix has high hopes for “Patriots.” In addition to starring in the six-season series “The Crown,” about Queen Elizabeth II, Morgan has also had success starring in historical dramas such as “Frost/Nixon” and “The Audience.”
Patriots, based on the life of Boris A. Berezovsky, was written long before fellow Putin critic Alexei A. Navalny died this month; It definitely makes the work feel more timely.
The play, scheduled to open at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on April 22nd, has also been successful. The production has already been produced twice in London, with a non-commercial production at the Almeida Theater in 2022 and a commercial production in the West End last year. Netflix was not involved, but executives at the company were given a chance to watch it. Critic Matt Wolf reviewed an earlier version of the film in The New York Times, calling it “gripping.”
Michael Stuhlberg will star as Berezovsky in the Broadway production. Will Keene will play President Putin, reprising his Olivier Award-winning performance last year. The production will receive up to $8 million in capital, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Netflix has shown its interest in theater in other ways as well. He has adapted numerous stage productions for 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 filmed stage performances of the musical “Diana” and the concert show “Springsteen on Broadway” for streaming.
The stage productions of Stranger Things and The Patriots are led by Sonia Friedman, a London-based impresario who regularly produces in both the West End and Broadway. Friedman is accustomed to working with big brand intellectual property and big entertainment companies. She is also one of the lead producers of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
