Netflix will be singing the lullaby of Broadway this spring with its production of Peter Morgan’s play, Patriots, which will open for a limited run at New York’s Ethel Barrymore theater on April 22. Previews of the show about Vladimir Putin’s rise to power are slated to begin on the first of April—the cruelest month, no foolin’.
Directed by Rupert Goold, Patriots was written by Peter Morgan, the author of The Crown, the acclaimed Netflix series about the British monarchy. Patriots recently concluded a record-breaking, critically acclaimed run at the Almeida and Noel Coward theatres in London’s West End. A review in The Telegraph called it “an icily and lusciously livewire account of Putin’s rise to power” while The Times described it as a “sharp-witted powerplay” and an “excitingly intelligent production.”
Set in 1991, just after the fall of the former Soviet Union, Patriots focuses on the role of the billionaire oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who helped engineer the rise of Vladmir Putin to power. Berezovsky was found dead after he became an outspoken critic of the Putin regime.
It had previously been announced that Tony nominee Michael Stuhlbarg would be playing the starring role of Berezovsky, the actor’s first Broadway role in the past two decades. Will Keen will play Vladimir Putin and Luke Thallon will play Roman Abramovich, another oligarch/politician. Also appearing in the 18-member cast will be Stella Baker, Ronald Guttman, Alex Hurt, Rosie Benton, Jeff Biehl, Peter Bradbury, Camila Canó-Flaviá, Marianna Gailus, Paul Kynman, Adam Poss and Nick Rehberger.
In addition to Netflix, producers include Sonia Friedman Productions, Nederlander Presentations, Richard Winkler, Stephanie P. McClelland, Ted Snowdon, Jamie deRoy/Ken Greiner, and Richard Batchelder. While Patriots remains Netflix’s first Broadway production, the streaming giant had earlier produced Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a West End spinoff of its sci-fi series.