Happy Trails! Bid Farewell to the Broadway Shows Closing in Early 2017
By: BWW Special Coverage Dec. 31, 2016
A slew of plays and musicals will open on Broadway in Spring 2017, but where there is good news, there is also sad news. To make room for the coming season's highly-anticipated new productions, some of our most beloved shows must close for good.
Below, BroadwayWorld salutes the shows that will soon be taking their final Broadway bows. Catch them while you still can!
MATILDA THE MUSICAL
Closing Night: January 1, 2017 at the Shubert Theatre
Closing Cast: The four girls sharing the title role are Ava Briglia, Tori Feinstein, Willow McCarthy and Aviva Winick. The principal cast also features Karen Aldridge (Mrs. Phelps), John Sanders (Mr. Wormwood), Jennifer Blood (Miss Honey), Lesli Margherita (Mrs. Wormwood), and Bryce Ryness (Miss Trunchbull).
About the Show: MATILDA THE MUSICAL is based on the beloved novel by best-selling author Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox). MATILDA THE MUSICAL is the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.
SOMETHING ROTTEN!
Closing Night: January 1, 2017 at the St. James Theatre
Closing Cast: Tony Award nominee Rob McClure as "Nick Bottom," Adam Pascal as "Shakespeare," Theatre World Award winner Josh Grisetti as "Nigel Bottom," Lortel Award winner Leslie Kritzer as "Bea," two-time Tony Award nominee Brad Oscar as "Nostradamus," Catherine Brunell as "Portia," David Beach as "Brother Jeremiah," Edward Hibbert as "Lord Clapham/Master of the Justice," Gerry Vichi as "Shylock," and André Ward as "Minstrel."
About the Show: Welcome to the '90s - the 1590s - long before the dawn of premium tickets, star casting and reminders to turn off your cell phones. Brothers Nick (McClure) and Nigel Bottom (Grisetti) are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rockstar known as "The Bard" (Chase). When a local soothsayer (Oscar) foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world's very first musical! But amidst the scandalous excitement of Opening Night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self... and all that jazz. With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is an uproarious dose of pure Broadway fun and an irresistible ode to musicals - those dazzling creations that entertain us, inspire us, and remind us that everything's better with an exclamation point!
THE ILLUSIONISTS - TURN OF THE CENTURY
Closing Night: January 1, 2017 at the Palace Theatre
Closing Cast: Led by The Clairvoyants (Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass), the cast also features DAna Daniels (The Charlatan), Charlie Frye (The Eccentric), Mark Kalin (The Showman), Jinger Leigh (The Conjuress), Justo Thaus (The Grand Carlini), and Rick Thomas (The Immortal), joined by Jonathan Goodwin (The Daredevil).
About the Show: The Illusionists - Turn Of The Century returns to Broadway for the third consecutive holiday season with a new show designed to transport audiences back to the golden age of magic.
THE COLOR PURPLE
Closing Night: January 8, 2017 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Closing Cast: Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo; Grammy and Tony Award winner Jennifer Holliday; and Carrie Compere, with Nathaniel Stampley, Jennie Harney, Kyle Scatliffe, Phoenix Best, Angela Birchett, DWayne Clark, Lawrence Clayton, Carrie Compere, Patrice Covington, J. Daughtry, Adrianna Hicks, Bre Jackson, Grasan Kingsberry, Kevin Mambo, Ken Robinson, Antoine L. Smith, Carla R. Stewart, Akron Watson, Rema Webb and Brit West.
About the Show: THE COLOR PURPLE is an unforgettable story of enduring love and triumph over adversity. With a fresh, joyous score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, this stirring family chronicle follows the inspirational Celie, as she journeys from childhood through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the power of love and life.
FALSETTOS
Closing Night: January 8, 2017 at the Walter Kerr Theatre
Closing Cast: The company includes Anthony Rosenthal (as Jason), Tracie Thoms (as Dr. Charlotte), Brandon Uranowitz (as Mendel), Betsy Wolfe (as Cordelia), Stephanie J. Block (as Trina), Christian Borle (as Marvin), and Andrew Rannells (as Whizzer).
About the Show: FALSETTOS, which won two Tony Awards for its score by William Finn and book by William Finn and James Lapine, combines the duo's 1981 musical March of theFalsettos with their 1990 sequel Falsettoland, to tell the story of a gay man named Marvin, his lover Whizzer, Marvin's wife Trina, and their extended family from the early '80s through the early days of the AIDS crisis.
LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
Closing Night: January 8, 2017 at the Booth Theatre
Closing Cast: The full company includes Janet McTeer as La Marquise de Merteuil and Liev Schreiber as Le Vicomte de Valmont, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as Madame de Tourvel, Raffi Barsoumian as Le Chevalier Danceny, Ora Jones as Madame de Volanges, ELena Kampouris as Cécile Volanges, Katrina Cunningham as Émilie, Josh Salt as Azolan, Joy Franz as Victoire, David Patterson as Major-domo, Laura Sudduth as Julie, and Mary Beth Peil as Madame de Rosemonde, with Rachel de Benedet and Ron Menzel.
About the Show: Former lovers, La Marquise de Merteuil and Le Vicomte de Valmont compete in games of seduction and revenge. These merciless aristocrats toy with the hearts and reputations of innocents. Merteuil incites Valmont to corrupt the convent-educated Cecile de Volanges before her wedding night but Valmont has other designs. His target is the peerlessly virtuous and happily married Madame de Tourvel.
THE ENCOUNTER
Closing Night: January 8, 2017 at the John Golden Theatre
Closing Cast: Simon McBurney
About the Show: In 1969, Loren McIntyre, a National Geographic photographer, found himself lost among the people of the remote Javari Valley in Brazil. It was an encounter that was to change his life: bringing the limits of human consciousness into startling focus. Simon McBurney traces McIntyre's journey into the depths of the Amazon rainforest, using binaural technology (3D audio) to build an intimate and shifting world of sound. Through innovative aural technology and brilliant storytelling, this is a heart-stopping, riveting, and slyly witty night of theater.
JERSEY BOYS
Closing Night: January 15, 2017 at the August Wilson Theatre
Closing Cast: The show features "Dancing with the Stars" superstar Mark Ballas in the iconic role of "Frankie Valli" alongside Richard H. Blake (Tommy DeVito), Matt Bogart (Nick Massi) and Quinn VanAntwerp (Bob Gaudio).
About the Show: JERSEY BOYS is the behind-the-music story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard... and the radio just couldn't get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story -- a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. The show features all their hits including "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Oh What A Night," "Walk Like A Man," "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "Working My Way Back To You."
HOLIDAY INN, THE NEW Irving Berlin MUSICAL
Closing Night: January 15, 2017 at Studio 54
Closing Cast: The musical stars Tony Award nominee Bryce Pinkham, Lora Lee Gayer, Tony Award nominee Megan Lawrence, Megan Sikora, with Corbin Bleu and Tony Award nominee Lee Wilkof.
About the Show: HOLIDAY INN, THE NEW Irving Berlin MUSICAL tells the story of Jim (Bryce Pinkham), who leaves the bright lights of show business behind to settle down on his farmhouse in Connecticut... but life just isn't the same without a bit of song and dance. Jim's luck takes a spectacular turn when he meets Linda (Lora Lee Gayer), a spirited schoolteacher with talent to spare. Together they turn The Farmhouse into a fabulous inn with sensational performances to celebrate each holiday, from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July. But when Jim's best friend, Ted (Corbin Bleu), tries to lure Linda away to be his new dance partner in Hollywood, will Jim be able to salvage his latest chance at love? Whether you adored the film or are experiencing HOLIDAY INN for the first time, this year-round romance is sure to delight.
THE HUMANS
Closing Night: January 15, 2017 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
Closing Cast: The ensemble cast includes Cassie Beck, Reed Birney, Jayne Houdyshell, Lauren Klein, Arian Moayed and Sarah Steele.
About the Show: The angst, anguish and amity of the American middle class are first coaxed - then shoved - into the light in this uproarious, hopeful, and heart-breaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake (Reed Birney) has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate and give thanks at his daughter's apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex, and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the Blake clan's deepest fears and greatest follies are laid bare. Our modern age of anxiety is keenly observed, with humor and compassion, in this new American classic.
OH, HELLO ON BROADWAY
Closing Night: January 22, 2017 at the Lyceum Theatre
Closing Cast: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney
About the Show: Respectively, the duo star as Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland - outrageously opinionated, 70-something, native New Yorkers that Kroll and Mulaney first began performing on the alternative comedy stages in NYC. Honed for over a decade, the fictional duo garnered a cult following and found their way onto a Comedy Central special, viral videos and late night couches everywhere. OH, HELLO ON BROADWAY is Gil and George's "memoir for the stage" - a laugh-a-minute two-man tour-de-force that's part scripted, part spontaneous comedy, and totally unprecedented.
THE FRONT PAGE
Closing Night: January 29, 2017 at the Broadhurst Theatre
Closing Cast: The ensemble features Nathan Lane, John Slattery, John Goodman, Jefferson Mays, Holland Taylor, Sherie Rene Scott, and Robert Morse, along with Dylan Baker, Patricia Conolly, Halley Feiffer, Dann Florek, John Magaro,Danny Mastrogiorgio, Christopher McDonald, David Pittu, Joey Slotnick, Lewis J. Stadlen, Micah Stock, and Clarke Thorell.
About the Show: The press room of Chicago's Criminal Courts Building is buzzing with reporters covering the story of an escaped prisoner. When star reporter Hildy Johnson (John Slattery) accidentally discovers the runaway convict, he and his editor Walter Burns (Nathan Lane) conspire to hide the man from the other reporters, while they chase the biggest scoop of their careers.
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