New York's theatre district appears to be going through something of a crisis, with a brutal raft of early closures. These include plays that enjoyed much success in London: like Elling, Simon Bent's adaptation of the Norwegian film about two newly released mental-health patients, which closed on Broadway last month after just one week, despite having big-name stars in Brendan Fraser, Denis O'Hare and Jennifer Coolidge. La Bête – starring Joanna Lumley, David Hyde Pierce and Mark Rylance – is closing five weeks early, and other casualties have included A Life in Theatre with Patrick Stewart, and the well-received Scottsboro Boys.
There are still British hits, of course: New Yorkers are flocking to Lee Hall's Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters. The formula for success on Broadway, therefore? Set your show in north-east England.
