Broadway beams its offerings via movie screens

The play — led by Tony Award-nominated Brian Bedford as director and in the role of the fearsome Lady Bracknell — will be available on hundreds of screens in 35 states, as well as across Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Mexico, competing with “Kung Fu Panda 2,’’ “X-Men: First Class’’ and “Green Lantern’’ in the global market.

The effort follows in the pioneering digital footsteps of The Metropolitan Opera and London National Theatre’s NT Live series, which concludes its second season on June 30 with a live transmission from London of Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard’’ starring Zoe Wanamaker.

Recent high-profile stage shows that have been converted into a screen version include a live production of “Fela!’’ in London by way of NT Live and the Tony-winning best musical “Memphis,’’ the first time a still-running Broadway musical was screened.

Chalk up the rise of the phenomenon to better technology and a desire on the part of movie theaters for so-called alternative content — a way to attract new customers with interesting offerings other than movies.

“There’s this extraordinary appetite for unique and special programs that goes beyond what the movie theaters are traditionally offering,’’ says Julie Borchard-Young, co-president of BY Experience, which captured the Wilde stage comedy using seven cameras in March.

Unlike “Memphis,’’ which was edited from five performances, the screen version of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of “The Importance in Being Earnest’’ wasn’t spliced together. Three performances were captured on HD and the best one was picked to broadcast from start to finish, based on such things as the performances, lighting and camera angles. The movie version will be available on various dates until June 28.

Producers of such theater-to-screen projects aren’t worried that the 2-D version will cut into demand for the 3-D show at the box office, where the Wilde play runs until July 3. In fact, Borchard-Young sees the opposite happening.