 Logo used since 2023 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Theater |
| Founded | May 2003; 22 years ago (2003-05) |
| Headquarters | US |
Key people | Mark Kaufman (EVP) |
| Products | Musicals, plays |
| Services | Licensing |
| Parent | Warner Bros. Entertainment |
| Website | warnerbrostheaterventures.com |
Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is the live show,stageplay andmusicalproduction arm ofWarner Bros. Discovery. The company forms a part ofWarner Bros., one of the major business segments of Warner Bros. Discovery. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is led by Mark Kaufman.[1]
Founded in 2003, to develop and produce plays and musicals based on the Warner Bros. library. The first production by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures was a musical adaptation ofAnne Rice'sThe Vampire Chronicles entitledLestat which entered development in 2003 and opened in 2006.[2]
Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures was formed in May 2003 by Gregg Maday, to focus on making stage adaptations of the Warner Bros. film library. Warner Bros. had considered creating a division to produce live stage shows after witnessingDisney's success with bringingBeauty and the Beast to Broadway.[3] Maday brought in Broadway producerEmanuel Azenberg as a consultant, and the first production they started working on was one aboutBatman.[3] The music was written byJim Steinman, with a book byDavid Ives, originallyTim Burton expressed interest in directing the Broadway show. But afterDance of the Vampires by Steinman and Ives flopped on Broadway, Warner Bros. pulled the plug on the Batman musical.
Warner Bros. received an offer fromLinda Woolverton and Robert Jess Roth, the writer and director of theBeauty and the Beast musical. The two of them wanted to work with songwritersElton John andBernie Taupin on anew musical based onAnne Rice'sThe Vampire Chronicles. "When you are starting something, and you get offered the two people who had worked onBeauty and the Beast, Elton John and Bernie Taupin on their first Broadway partnership, and Anne Rice, who has extraordinary success as a novelist, as package, it was really difficult to say 'no' to that, even if I wanted to," Maday explained.
Production onLestat started in November of 2003.[2]Lestat premiered at the Curran Theatre, San Francisco, California on December 17, 2005 and closed on January 29, 2006.[4] The musical opened onBroadway at thePalace Theatre on March 25, 2006 and closed on May 28, 2006, after 33 previews and 39 performances.[4][5]
The next venture into Broadway was not until 2009, withElf.[6] After a 2009 workshop, the musical officially opened for a limited holiday engagement at theAl Hirschfeld Theatre onBroadway on November 14, 2010, following previews from November 2, 2010. Maday went on to leave Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures in 2011, and was replaced by Mark Kaufman.
The show began previews in New York City on March 25, 2006 and officially opened at thePalace Theatre on April 25, 2006. The musical was the first Broadway adaptation byWarner Bros., based onThe Vampire Chronicles byAnne Rice and featured a book byLinda Woolverton, music byElton John, and lyrics byBernie Taupin. The musical closed on May 28, 2006 after 33 previews and 39 performances, and overall bad reviews.[4]
The musical beganBroadway previews on January 17, 2014 at theGerald Schoenfeld Theatre and opened on February 20, 2014.[7] Although critically the musical was received fairly well, it failed to sell enough tickets to stay open and the musical closed on May 18, 2014, after 137 performances.[8][9][10] Despite closing early, the musical went on to win the2014 Tony Awards for "Best Original Score" and "Best Orchestrations" on June 8, 2014.
A US national tour began November 2015 and ran until July 2016.[11][12]
Adapted bySimon Stephens and directed byMarianne Elliott,[13] the show premièred at theRoyal National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre on 2 August 2012.[14] The show went on to win eightLaurence Olivier Awards in 2013, includingBest New Play,Best Actor, andBest Director.[15] Following the success in London, it play went on a UK tour in December 2014.[16] The play transferred to Broadway making its American debut at theEthel Barrymore Theatre, starting previews on October 5, 2014, with the official opening September 10, 2014.[17] The show was a massive critical success, going on to win six Tony Awards,[18] sixDrama Desk Awards,[19] and sixOuter Critics Circle Awards.[20] The show ended its Broadway run on September 4, 2016, after 800 performances.[21][22] A US national tour began September 27, 2016,[23] followed by an international tour and another UK tour in 2017,[24][25] and an Australian tour in 2018.[26][27]
Doctor Zhivago had its world premiere asZhivago at theLa Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California in 2006.[28] An Australian touring production of the musical directed byDes McAnuff premiered asDoctor Zhivago – A New Musical at theLyric Theatre, Sydney. The show received glowing reviews.[29][30] The production ran from February 19 through April 3, 2011,[31]
A Seoul original production directed by Des McAnuff,[32] premiered at the Charlotte Theatre, Seoul, January 25, 2012, following previews the show opened officially January 27, and ran until June 3, 2012.
In 2014, McAnuff directed a Swedish translation of the play for the Scandinavian premier, atMalmö Opera.[33]
A 2015Broadway production, again directed by Des McAnuff,[34] It began previews at theBroadway Theatre on March 27, 2015, opened on April 21, 2015, and closed on May 10, 2015, due to low ticket sales and a lack ofTony Award nominations. It had played a total of 26 previews and 23 performances.[35][36]
Written byWilliam Goldman, the writer of the 1990 film,Misery was produced in association withCastle Rock Entertainment.[37] The show premiered at theBucks County Playhouse,Pennsylvania for a limited time engagement on November 24, 2012, for 11 performances, and closed December 8, 2012.[38][39][40] In March 2015 it was announced thatMisery would premiere on Broadway for a limited time engagement starringBruce Willis as writer Paul Sheldon andLaurie Metcalf as Annie Wilkes[41] at theBroadhurst Theatre beginning previews on October 22, 2015, formally opening on November 15, 2015. The show closed on February 14, 2016. For her performance as Annie, Metcalf was nominated for aTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[42]
The musical began previews May 22, 2013, at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane,London, officially opening June 25, 2013.[43][44][45][46] The show currently holds the record for the highest weekly gross in theWest End, with an income of £1,080,260 during the week commencing December 30, 2013.[47]
A reworked version of the show opened on Broadway in early 2017 with changes including new direction byJack O'Brien, choreography by Josh Bergasse and a new set design by original designer Mark Thompson.[48] O'Brien stated the score would pay homage to the Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley songs written for the1971 film and would also feature the songs written by Shaiman and Wittman.[49] In August 2016, O'Brien confirmed that "The Candy Man" and "Pure Imagination" would be included in the musical.[50] The show opened at theLunt-Fontanne Theatre starringChristian Borle as Willy Wonka. Emma Pfaeffle as Veruca Salt, and F. Michael Haynie as Augustus Gloop.[51][52] previews began March 28, 2017, with opening night officially being April 23, 2017.[53] On 15 November 2017, producers announced that production would close on 14 January 2018 after 27 previews and 305 performances.[54]
A US National Tour began September 2018, starting inBuffalo, New York. An Australian production premiered at theCapitol Theatre on January 5, 2019, and opened on the 11th.[55]
Based on the novel byS. E. Hinton and on its1983 film adaptation, the show held its world premiere atLa Jolla Playhouse in February/March 2023.[56] It began Broadway previews on March 16, 2024 at theBernard B. Jacobs Theatre with an opening night that took place on April 11, 2024. The production is directed byDanya Taymor from a libretto byAdam Rapp, with songs byJamestown Revival and music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Justin Levine.[57] It received 12 nominations at the77th Tony Awards and won four awards, includingBest Musical.[58]
The show debuted for a limited time holiday engagement on November 2, 2010, in New York City at theAl Hirschfeld Theatre in previews, with the official opening being November 14, 2010. A Broadway cast recording was released to November 1, 2011.[59] The popularity of the show spawned repeated national tours in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. The show was revived for Broadway November 9, 2012 for another limited time holiday engagement before closing January 6, 2013.[60] In 2014 NBC premiered a stop-motion animation adaptation of Elf: The Musical starring Jim Parsons[61]
Elf made its international debut inLondon for another limited time holiday engagement at theDominion Theatre October 24, 2015. The show officially became the fastest selling show since the Dominion Theatre opened in 1929.[62]
Premiering at theKansas City Repertory Theatre,Missouri for a limited holiday engagement in December 2009.[63][64] The musical began previews for another limited holiday engagement onBroadway at theLunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 7, 2012, with the official opening on November 19, 2012.[65][66] The musical features original songs fromPasek and Paul and is an adaptation of the 1983 film of the same name. Due to the show's popularity, it spawned national tours annually and received its international debut in London at the Waterloo Easter Theatre on November 28, 2018.[67]
In 2017,FOX broadcast a liveTelevision special of the musical entitledA Christmas Story Live!.[68]
The musical opened October 14, 2018 at theNational Theatre inWashington, D.C., after a successful limited-time run the show closed on November 18, 2018. On September 6, 2018, it was announced following its Washington, D.C., performance the show would transfer to Broadway, opening for the 2018-2019 musical season at theWinter Garden Theatre with previews beginning on March 28, 2019, and an official opening night on April 25, 2019. The show was set to close on June 6, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, closed on March 10, 2020.[69] It had reopened at the Marquis Theatre on April 8, 2022, and then closed on January 8, 2023.
Warner Bros Theatre Venture made special arrangements and licensed the rights to playwright andNAACP Award winnerJe'Caryous Johnson to produce a live stage adaptation to the 1991 action-crime filmNew Jack City.[70] The production opened its two-day preview on October 29-30, 2022 at theGas South Theater inAtlanta,Georgia and is currently running in a national tour from November of 2022 into June of 2024.[71] The stage play starsAllen Payne, who reprises his role as "Gee Money",Treach as Nino Brown,Flex Alexander as "Pookie",Big Daddy Kane as Stone andGary Dourdan as Scotty.Omar Gooding was cast as Stone for the 2024 production run. The live stage adaptation is the second production Je'Caryous Johnson produced under the Warner Bros. Theater Venture. He previously producedSet It Off: Live in 2018 and 2020.[72]
The show was first announced byVariety in November 2014 after an industry reading held on October 31. In summer 2016 it was announced a second private reading was held featuring Broadway starBrian d’Arcy James[73] The musical debuted at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., on July 18, 2018, for a limited engagement until August 19, 2018.[74][75] There has yet to be any word on whether the show will move to Broadway.
The show is ajukebox musical that premiered at the Coast Playhouse in Los Angeles on July 18, 2009, that ran until August 30, 2009.[76] The show went on to open with the same cast at thePasadena Playhouse on November 13, 2009, and ran until December 13, 2009.
The show opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre, starting previews on March 26, 2011, officially opening on April 27, 2011.[77][78] The production closed on September 4, 2011, after horrible reviews, even going so far to be called "dismal" byThe New York Times.[79][80]
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