WASHINGTON – The high-definition cinecast of “Memphis” hitting movie screens this month could signal a breakthrough for the theater world.

“Memphis” is last year’s Best Musical Tony winner, it’s still going strong on Broadway, and a national tour is on the way – for $20 you will be able to catch the Broadway show in theaters, including Coldwater Crossing in Fort Wayne.

That’s new, yet “Memphis” has company in the sudden race to convert live theater to limited-run movie house experiences. Two weeks ago, the New York Philharmonic’s benefit performances of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” were “captured” for HD cinecast starting June 15. Neil Patrick Harris stars, and the cast includes Patti LuPone (beloved by Broadway buffs) as well as Jon Cryer and Stephen Colbert (box-office bait from TV).

June will also mark the international HD cinema release of Oscar Wilde’s comic masterpiece “The Importance of Being Earnest,” as it is currently being staged by the Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway. Roundabout managing director Harold Wolpert suggests that “Earnest” – featuring an acclaimed turn in drag by Brian Bedford as Wilde’s famous society scold, Lady Bracknell – will be the first American non-profit troupe’s show to get high-def treatment.

That distinction may not last long.

“There’s a lot coming,” says Julie Borchard-Young, whose BY Experience captured “Earnest” and will distribute it to cinemas.

“It’s just starting to snowball,” says Darryl Shaffer, whose Screenvision is distributing “Company.”

But is there any money in it? “I don’t know,” laughs veteran producer Ellen Krass, who has brought a number of Sondheim projects to the small screen on PBS. “Call me in a couple months.”

“We’re still in the early stages,” says Bruce Brandwen, whose Broadway Worldwide is behind the “Memphis” HD.

The results are already in at the Metropolitan Opera, of course, which these theater dreamers almost universally cite as their model. Next fall the Met will begin a sixth season of its trailblazing “Live in HD” cinecasts, which transmit certain Saturday afternoon performances live from New York to movie theaters around the world. (Delayed screenings and encores are part of the package, too.) Last season, “Live in HD” grossed $48 million, according to the Met’s website. Half went back to the Met to cover costs and disbursements, and $8 million was profit.

Theater has been following suit most consistently in London, where the National Theatre is completing its second season of “NT Live.” The National’s satellite HD cinecasts are shown in Washington at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Center, and the programming has been a hit. Managing director Chris Jennings bought a large screen as soon as the series began; now he has invested in an HD projector, too.

Technology gets cheaper and better all the time, and such low-end stuff as cell phones used by rabid fans to upload bootlegs has nudged a skeptical and heavily unionized theater industry toward a controlled embrace of digital opportunities. Getting support from the unions has been key, naturally.

One common fear had to do with cannibalization, the concern that video would kill the stage show. But movie versions of Broadway hits “Chicago,” “Rent” and “Phantom of the Opera” didn’t hurt the theatrical box office.

“If you like something, you’re going to see it in multiple formats,” Brandwen says. “Disney has taught us that.”

The cost to capture a performance varies dramatically. Krass says a one-off such as “Company” is easier than a running, fully produced show such as “Memphis.”

In London, the National has set up an in-house unit to shoot the productions it selects for HD, which helps control costs. The National builds platforms, uses cranes and maps out tracking shots, using about a half-dozen cameras.

Sabel, like everyone else, cautions that these HD experiences are exciting but no substitute for the real thing.

“Does somebody go in to see a Tony-winning play,” Krass asks, “or to see Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Colbert? I don’t know. We’re on a learning curve.”

Borchard-Young says high-def has opened up a new entertainment niche. “Movies are leaps and bounds ahead in delivering that crisp, clean quality and larger-than-life experience that make these events pop out,” she says. But she adds, “This is not a substitute experience. It’s an additive one. ... We believe in leaving your home and being an active consumer and sitting next to people who are like-minded in that way.”