Big Brother Heads to Broadway; UK '1984' Will Transfer for 2017/2018 Season

Big Brother may be watching, but soon Broadway fans will have the opportunity to watch right back. In a move that is as timely as it is eerie, the lauded stage adaptation of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984 will make the leap from the London to Broadway this summer.

Producers Sonia Friedman and Scott Rudin will be shepherding the production to New York, along with its entire London creative team. They plan to re-cast the show with American actors who will play limited engagement at the Hudson Theatre, beginning Thursday, June 22.

Created by Robert Icke and Duncan MacMillan, the stage adaptation of 1984 was originally produced in the U.K. by the Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse, and Almeida Theatre. The production was extremely well received in the UK, and was praised for its use of multimedia and immersive sets.

1984 features a creative team that includes Chloe Lamford (Scenic & Costume Design), Natasha Chivers (Lighting Design), Tom Gibbons (Sound Design), and Tim Reid (Video Design).

One of the most widely referenced and best known fiction titles of all time, 1984 was first published in 1949. Interest in the title has spiked in recent weeks, as the New York Times reported on January 24, 2017 in an article titled "George Orwell's '1984' Is Suddenly a Best-Seller," stating, "George Orwell's classic book '1984,' about a dystopian future where critical thought is suppressed under a totalitarian regime, has seen a surge in sales this month, rising to the top of multiple best-seller lists in the United States and leading its publisher to have tens of thousands of new copies printed."