Stage Version of Oscar-Winning The King’s Speech Aims for Broadway

The King’s Speech, which nabbed the 2011 Oscar for Best Picture, is eyeing Broadway, according to Bloomberg News. Oscar-winning screenwriter David Seidler originally conceived the project for the theater and now the show may take the stage as soon as next season. But will the film’s lauded stars headline the play on the Great White Way? It looks like the answer is no, according to stage producer Michael Alden. He said that Colin Firth (who took home the Academy Award for portraying King George VI) and Geoffrey Rush (who earned a nomination for playing speech therapist Lionel Logue) will not reprise their roles on stage.

“I know David Seidler would like me do to the play,” Rush said of returning to the material. “I have to keep myself alert and diversified. I’m getting older and I have to be open to other possibilities.” Rush also commented on a production reaching Broadway shortly after the film’s theatrical run saying, “They have to let the film mellow with the audience.”

Alden hopes to bring the show to London’s West End later this year before transferring the show to Broadway. Former Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Adrian Noble is set to direct.

Directed by Tom Hooper, the movie version of The King’s Speech follows George’s struggle with a speech impediment and the friendship that forms between the British royal and his unconventional speech therapist, Logue. The film has grossed over $300 million worldwide and will be released on DVD on April 19.