Netflix to Produce Broadway’s ‘Patriots,’ Play About Vladimir Putin From ‘The Crown’ Creator

Netflix is getting into the business of Broadway. The streaming behemoth is producing the upcoming play “Patriots,” from “The Crown” creator Peter Morgan.

The show, set in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union, is about Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, a billionaire who helped orchestrate the ruthless rise of Vladimir Putin. He later became a vocal critic of Russia’s president and wound up dead.

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This will serve as Netflix’s Broadway debut, but it won’t be the company’s first foray to the stage. The company also produced the West End play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” a spinoff of Netflix’s wildly successful sci-fi series.

As previously announced, Tony nominee Michael Stuhlbarg will return to Broadway for the first time in 20 years to star as Boris Berezovsky. Original cast members Will Keen and Luke Thallon will both make their Broadway debuts as Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarch/politician Roman Abramovich, respectively.

Directed by Rupert Goold, “Patriots” will begin preview performances on April 1 ahead of opening night on April 22. It will run for 12 weeks at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The show was first staged in London, where it became one of the fastest-selling new plays and recouped its investment in its original run.

“Patriots” will also be produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Nederlander, Richard Winkler, Stephanie P. McClelland, Ted Snowdon, Jamie deRoy/Ken Greiner and Richard Batchelder.

The creative team includes set designer Miriam Buether, co-costume designers Deborah Andrews and Miriam Buether, lighting designer Jack Knowles, sound designer and composer Adam Cork, projection designer Ash J Woodward and movement director Polly Bennett.

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