Can You Love a Fool? Can You Love a Player? West End's Shakespeare in Love is Broadway Aimed

Can you love a fool? Can you love a player? The answer from London is a resounding yes. The acclaimed West End stage adaptation of the hit 1998 film Shakespeare in Love is aiming for Broadway in the 2015-16 season. According to the New York Post, the transfer will probably star Tom Bateman and Lucy Briggs-Owen, reprising their lead roles of Will Shakespeare and Viola De Lesseps.

Adapted by Tony winner Lee Hall and directed by Declan Donnellan, the production officially opened at London's Noel Coward Theatre on July 23 and also stars Tony nominee Paul Chahidi. Set in London during the late 16th century, Shakespeare in Love centers on young playwright William Shakespeare, who is struggling with his latest work Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter. A great fan of Shakespeare's plays is young, wealthy Viola who is about to be married to the cold-hearted Lord Wessex, but constantly dreams of becoming an actress. Women were not allowed to act on stage at that time, but, dressed up as a boy, Viola successfully auditions for the part of Romeo. Soon she and William are caught in a forbidden romance that provides rich inspiration for his play.

The movie, penned by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard and directed by John Madden, won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress for Gwyneth Paltrow and Best Supporting Actress for Judi Dench. Shakespeare in Love also starred Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush and Tom Wilkinson.