“Swept Away,” a new musical with folk-rock songs by the Avett Brothers about the aftermath of a violent shipwreck off the coast of New England in 1888, which opened on Nov. 19, will close on Dec. 15 at the Longacre Theatre after just 32 regular performances and 20 previews.
In a statement, the show’s producers thanked “our fantastic creative team, our loyal actors and all of our co-producers and in turn their investors, for believing in this production and taking a risk on new work.”
The abrupt closure of “Swept Away” seems to show that fast-and-furious flops—shows that open and almost immediately close due to low box office income that is unlikely to improve in the future—seem to be making a comeback. This could be due to an eagerness by producers and investors to prevent additional losses or by theater owners to get new shows into the theaters in time for the spring season.
Previously, “Tammy Faye,” Elton John’s new bio-musical about televangelist Tammy Faye Messner, announced that it would close on Dec. 8, just a few days after its official opening. I attended a matinee performance recently at the newly refurbished Palace Theatre and was surprised at how empty the audience was.
New shows for both the Palace Theatre and Longacre Theatre are likely to be announced in the coming weeks.
Betty Gilpin to take over for Cole Escola in ‘Oh, Mary!’
Betty Gilpin (“GLOW,” “Nurse Jackie”) will take over the role of Mary Todd Lincoln from playwright and performer Cole Escola in the surprise smash comedy “Oh, Mary!” for eight weeks beginning Jan. 21.
Set in Washington, D.C. at the end of the Civil War, “Oh, Mary!” imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as an alcoholic, foul-mouthed, self-obsessed, perverted, needy, and dim-witted First Lady with a closeted, stressed-out husband.
“I have worshiped at the altar of Cole for years, but seeing their billion layered brilliance in Oh, Mary! was a new plane of demented genius I didn’t know was scientifically possible,” Gilpin said in a statement.
The show’s limited run has also been extended through June 28, which raises the question of whether Escola will return to the show later this season. Late last month, its producers announced that the show (which has been consistently sold out and attracted numerous celebrities as audience members) had recouped its $4.5 million production costs, making it officially a “hit.”
Rainn Wilson to lead ‘Urinetown’ at City Center
Rainn Wilson, best remembered as the eccentric paper salesman Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” will play the villainous corporate titan cartoon Caldwell B. Cladwell in the upcoming Encores! production of the 2001 musical comedy “Urinetown,” which will run at City Center from Feb. 5 to 16.
The cast also includes Taran Killam (“Saturday Night Live”), Jordan Fisher (“Sweeney Todd”), Keala Settle (“The Greatest Showman”), Greg Hildreth (“Frozen”), Stephanie Styles (“Kiss Me, Kate”), and Jeff Hiller (“Somebody Somewhere”).
“Urinetown” is a wickedly funny satire set in a fascist future society where citizens must pay a tax each time they use the bathroom.
Laura Benanti on ‘She Loves Me’ co-star Zachary Levi: ‘I never liked him’
Laura Benanti is no fan of Zachary Levi, who co-starred with Benanti in the 2016 Broadway revival of “She Loves Me.”
In October, Levi suggested on social media that Gavin Creel, who also appeared in “She Loves Me,” died due to the COVID vaccine rather than cancer.
Benanti, while appearing on “That’s a Gay Ass Podcast,” said “I never liked him…To use [Gavin Creel’s] memory for his political agenda and to watch him try to make himself cry until he had one single tear which he did not wipe away, I was like, [expletive] you forever.” “
“She Loves Me” was preserved in a live capture and is still available online.
