What West End Show Should Make the Leap to Broadway? | Playbill

Polls What West End Show Should Make the Leap to Broadway? London's West End features some exciting new musicals, as well as highly praised revivals. Among them are Gypsy, starring Imelda Staunton; Hamlet, starring Benedict Cumberbatch; and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Playbill.com took to Twitter to ask its readers which shows they'd most like see make the transatlantic leap.

Gypsy

The West End revival of Gypsy, starring Imelda Staunton as Rose, opened at the Savoy Theatre April 15 and is set to run through Nov. 28. The production also stars Lara Pulver as Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee. The show is loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, a famous striptease artist. It features such songs as "If Momma Was Married," "Let Me Entertain You" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Gypsy features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents.

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Imelda Staunton in Gypsy Photo by Johan Persson

 

Funny Girl

Funny Girl, starring Sheridan Smith as Fanny Brice, will open at the Menier Chocolate Factory Nov. 20 and play through March 5, 2016. The production has already completely sold out. Funny Girl tells the story of Fanny Brice, "who rose from the Lower East Side of New York to become one of Broadway's biggest stars under producer Florenz Ziegfeld. While she was cheered onstage as a great comedienne, offstage she faced a doomed relationship with the man she loved." It features such songs as "People," "Don't Rain On My Parade" and "You Are Woman, I Am Man." The production is directed by Michael Mayer.

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on the children's novel by Roald Dahl, opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane June 25, 2013. It tells the story of Charlie, a poor boy who finds a golden ticket in his chocolate bar wrapper and is taken on a weird and wonderful trip through the Wonka Chocolate Factory. It features a new score as well as the classic film song, "Pure Imagination." The production currently stars Jonathan Slinger as Willy Wonka and Noah Crump, Johnny Evans-Hutchison, Zachary Loonie and Jake Poolman as Charlie Bucket. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory features music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman and a book by David Grieg. The production is directed by Sam Mendes.

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Miss Saigon

The West End revival of Miss Saigon opened at the Prince Edward Theatre May 21, 2014. The production stars Eva Noblezada as Kim. Miss Saigon is described as such: "An American G.I. falls in love with a Vietnamese prostitute while stationed in Saigon during the Vietnam War. They are separated when the country falls, until she returns to his life years later, in this musical inspired by the opera Madame Butterfly." The show features music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr. and a book by Schönberg and Boublil. Miss Saigon features such songs as "I'd Give My Life For You" and "I Still Believe." The production is produced by Cameron Mackintosh.

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Bend It Like Beckham

Bend It Like Beckham, a new musical based on the film of the same name, opened at the Phoenix Theatre June 24. The show is described as follows: "Jess needs extra time. She is facing the most important decision of her life: live up to family expectations of university, career and marriage, or follow in the footsteps of her hero David Beckham. When the talented teenager is spotted playing football in Southall, a world of unexpected opportunities opens up before her. But as her sister’s traditional Indian wedding approaches, can she keep her family happy and still follow her dreams?" Bend It Like Beckham stars Natalie Dew as Jess. It features music by Howard Goodall, lyrics by Charles Hart and a book by Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges. The production is directed by Gurinder Chadha.

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Hamlet

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the title character in the new production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, which opened at the Barbican Theatre Aug. 25. "As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart," according to press notes. "Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state." The production is directed by Lyndsey Turner.

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Benedict Cumberbatch Photo by Johan Persson
 
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