In 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the new Russia belongs to its oligarchs—and no one is more powerful than billionaire Boris Berezovsky. When an eventual successor to President Boris Yeltsin is needed, Berezovsky turns to the little-known deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin. But soon Putin's ruthless rise threatens Berezovsky's reign, setting off a riveting, near-Shakespearean confrontation between the two powerful, fatally flawed men.
Tony® and Emmy® Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg stars as Berezovsky and Will Keen reprises his Olivier Award-winning turn as Putin in PATRIOTS, a shockingly timely history play from Peter Morgan, creator of Netflix's "The Crown."
Don't miss this strictly limited engagement of Olivier Award winner Rupert Goold's kinetic, exhilarating production, which reveals to us all how Russia's post-Soviet machinations continue to shape our world to this day.
It proves tough territory to conquer, despite the Sturm und Drang of this staging by Almeida artistic director Rupert Goold (Netflix, a co-producer on the show, is reportedly developing a screen adaptation). Morgan’s choice to focus on Berezovsky, a pivotal figure in shaping post-Soviet Russia (and installing its authoritarian leader), is a promising one. But “Patriots” suffers from a slipperiness of both focus and scale, dramatizing historical incidents and backroom deals while only thinly sketching the characters behind them.
It’s curious that Morgan depicts Putin as a man whose ambitions and cunning stays under wraps, Keen playing him with smaller gestures opposite Stuhlbarg’s heavily gesticulatory performance. But here, rather than a man who’s biding his time to get to a place where he can rule without consequence, Morgan’s Putin really is made by this version of Berezovsky, only intermittently trying to assert his own agency, but basically molded into something that his maker loses control of. It’s an easily digestible version of history, possibly problematic in its vision that Berezovsky, hungry only for power, is the only person with autonomy until the world of his making no longer has a use for him.
General Rush
Price: $40
Where: Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street)
When: When the box office opens on the day of the performance.
Limit: Two per customer.
Information: Subject to daily availability.
Digital Lottery:
Price: $30
Where: PatriotsBroadway.com
When: 12:00 AM one day before the performance.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Winners will be drawn the same day at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM.
2023 | West End |
West End |
2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Will Keen |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play | Michael Stuhlbarg |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Michael Stuhlbarg |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Rupert Goold |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Patriots |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Michael Stuhlbarg |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Peter Morgan |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Video/Projections (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Ash J. Woodward |
2024 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | Will Keen |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Michael Stuhlbarg |
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