NEW YORK, April 27 (UPI) -- The smash hit West End musical "Jerry Springer -- The Opera" is heading to Broadway, the BBC reported Tuesday.
Hollywood stars Harvey Keitel and Kevin Kline, as well as real-life talk-show host Jerry Springer, have all expressed interest in playing the lead in the U.S. version of the award-winning musical, the British news agency said.
Based on Springer's syndicated TV chat show, in which guests are encouraged to confess their darkest secrets in a public forum, the show is expected to open in New York in October 2005 after a six-week run in San Francisco next spring.
"Americans who see the show in London absolutely love it, so we are hoping it will get the same response over there," said producer Jon Thoday.
Despite an increasingly conservative approach to indecency in the United States, Thoday has vowed the material will not be toned down.
"Either it will be the most enormous hit or audiences will walk out in horror," he said. "We are not compromising the production one iota -- the content and lyrics will remain the same."
