Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is looking to add theater impresario to his credits.
After dabbling in Broadway productions and investing in others’ shows over the years, Weinstein, who along with brother Bob founded the Weinstein Co. and its predecessor, Miramax, are making a push to line up new financing partners and fund a slate of original productions.
A source said the Weinsteins are working with Mark Patricof’s Mesa Global, a boutique investment advisory firm, to raise money and structure partnerships. Several wealthy individuals and institutional investors are already in talks with Weinstein Co., said a person close to the negotiations.
A typical Broadway production costs around $15 million to stage. While there have been some expensive flops in recent years, such as “Shrek the Musical,” there’s also the lure of finding the next “Book of Mormon,” the irreverent musical about modern-day Mormon missionaries that has taken Broadway by storm.
The plan is to mine the Miramax and Weinstein Co. vaults for material for eight to 10 projects. The Weinsteins are already in production on a new musical “Finding Neverland,” based on the 2004 Miramax movie of the same name about “Peter Pan” author J.M. Barrie.
The Post’s Michael Riedel reported last week that the production’s scheduled tryout in California was cancelled because the Weinstein Co. doesn’t think it’s ready yet.
Other planned movie-to-Broadway projects include “Chocolat” and “Cinema Paradiso.”
“It’s an expansion of the existing Weinstein Live Entertainment,” said Weinstein Co. Chief Operating Officer David Glasser. “Instead of investing in other shows, it’s about original shows out of our shop.”
Working with Glasser is David Hutkin, who joined the firm in October 2010 as executive vice president of strategic initiatives, investments and the banking group.
The initiative has gained new life now that Miramax’s new owner, Colony Capital, has settled talks over franchise rights to movies that were in limbo following Disney’s sale of the studio last year.
The Weinsteins’ Broadway push mimics moves by other big media companies such as Disney and DreamWorks Animation, among others.
The Weinsteins aren’t new to the theater world. Harvey Weinstein is listed as a producer on several productions, including “The Producers,” “Billy Elliot,” and “All Shook Up.”
In addition, Weinstein is close friends with Cablevision Chief Executive James Dolan, who as Madison Square Garden impresario knows a thing or two about live entertainment. catkinson@nypost.com