Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesMontego Glover and Chad Kimball in the original Broadway cast of “Memphis.”Another major Broadway musical is closing in what is shaping up to be a summer of house-cleaning at New York theaters. “Memphis,” which won the Tony Award for best musical in 2010, will close at the Shubert Theater on Aug. 5 after 30 previews and 1,166 performances, the show’s producers announced on Tuesday.
A love story about a white deejay and a black singer in 1950s segregated Memphis, the musical will have had a fairly long run by today’s standards, yet it never achieved blockbuster status; critics’ reviews were mixed and ticket sales have been uneven, with the show grossing a relatively modest $541,602 last week (or 44 percent of the maximum possible amount).
A spokeswoman for the “Memphis” producers said the show was on the verge of recouping its full capitalization; the producers have never said how much “Memphis” cost to mount, but it is widely believed to be about $11 million.
Directed by Christopher Ashley, “Memphis” won three other Tonys in addition to best musical, including for best score by Bon Jovi’s David Bryan and Joe DiPietro and best book for Mr. DiPietro.
The show is currently touring the United States, and a West End production is being planned.
Several other musicals have recently closed or announced final performances, including “Anything Goes,” “Godspell,” “Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” and “Sister Act.”
Also joining that list officially is “Jesus Christ Superstar.” A spokeswoman for the Broadway revival of that Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical confirmed that the show would close on Sunday after a run of 24 previews and 116 performances.
Launched at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, “Superstar” opened in March to mixed reviews and never caught on at the box office; the producers announced last week that the show would close on July 1 unless business quickly improved.
No comments:
Post a Comment