The New York theater community spent most of the 1980s moaning about the flood of British musicals. Now the tide has receded—the “newest” Brit mega-musical currently on Broadway has been there for eight years—and the New York theater community has reverted to its pre-Lloyd Webber pastime of moaning about the flood of British plays. This is a time-honored tradition. Thirty years ago, in his book The Season, William Goldman wrote, “London is my favorite city, but right now, having sat through an American theatre year, I’m sick of the English. I’m sick of rotten English actors and I’m sick of rotten English plays.” Goldman blamed the British for what he called “the Snob Hit”—or rather, not so much the British but their Broadway importers: “I’m sickest of all of rotten American producers who keep bringing over damn near anything that receives the gentlest London critical approval.& ...

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