Jerry Springer - The Opera has booked its place on Broadway, it was announced today.
The award-winning West End musical opens in New York in October 2005.
Now the search is on to fill the starring role - with Harvey Keitel, Kevin Kline and Springer himself all being mooted to play the chat show king.
The production will first open in San Francisco for a six-week run beginning next spring, before transferring to New York.
The show will continue to play in the West End where former Dempsey And Makepeace star Michael Brandon is in the title role.
A source said: "It is possible that Michael will switch between the two productions but we have had a lot of interest from big Hollywood stars so our options are open.
"Harvey Keitel and Kevin Kline have both been to see the show and loved it and either one would make a great Jerry Springer.
"Jerry himself has said in the past he would be interested in the part but he has his chat show commitments and political aspirations to juggle too, so it may not be possible.
"It is a great role so we are not surprised by the level of interest."
Jerry Springer - The Opera premiered at the National Theatre in April 2003 and transferred to the Cambridge Theatre in November.
It has been named best musical at the Olivier Awards, the Critics' Circle Awards, the Evening Standard Awards and the What's On Stage Awards - the first West End show ever to do so.
Producer Jon Thoday admitted that taking the show to the US was a gamble.
The production features blasphemy, bad language and a grown man in a nappy.
"Either it will be the most enormous hit or audiences will walk out in horror," Thoday said.
"We are not compromising the production one iota - the content and lyrics will remain the same.
"Americans who come over to see the show in London absolutely love it so we are hoping it will get the same response over there.
"TV shows like South Park have been a hit in the States and that gives us heart because we occupy the same kind of territory."
The musical is based on Springer's lurid talk show, which brought viewers episodes such as Pregnant By A Transsexual and I Married A Horse.
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Writer Richard Thomas said of the show: "It's got tragedy. It's got violence. There are people screaming at each other and you can't understand what they're saying. It's perfect for opera."
