Seattle’s ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ Considers Jumping to West End

“Sleepless in Seattle” seems pretty specific to America: its main protagonists hail from two different sides of the country and meet up in New York. But that isn’t stopping producers of the new musical from considering London as its next stop.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the musical is eyeing West End as its next move, and could open there as early as next year. The paper reports that Sheldon Epps, artistic director for the Pasadena Playhouse, confirmed that talks are underway about the transfer.

The Pasadena Playhouse is where the musical debuted earlier this year, though it has long been in the making. The musical ran in Pasadena from May 24 through June 23, and is based on the popular 1993 movie starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

The book for the musical is by Jeff Arch, who co-wrote the original screenplay with David S. Ward and Nora Ephron. The music for the new musical is by Ben Toth and Sam Forman.

Here’s how producers describe the new musical:

“Sleepless in Seattle – The Musical” centers around Sam, a widower and single father. When Sam’s son, Jonah, calls into a talk radio program looking for a new mother, Sam ends up getting on the phone and laments about his lost love. Thousands of miles away in Baltimore, Annie hears the program and immediately falls in love with Sam, despite the fact that she has never met him and that she is engaged to another man. Believing they are meant to be together, Annie sets out for Seattle to meet Sam, who, meanwhile, contends with an onslaught of letters from available women equally touched by his phone call.

The American Film Institute has listed “Sleepless in Seattle” as one of the Top 10 Best Romantic Comedies of all time. Other films on the list include “Annie Hall,” “Roman Candle” and “When Harry Met Sally.” The last film also stars Meg Ryan and was written by Nora Ephron.