Several Broadway shows end their runs today. After taking advantage of the holiday crowds over Christmas and New Year’s, these Broadway shows determined that it wouldn’t be worth it to continue running through the traditionally slow months of January and February. Of the five, Elf was the only holiday-specific show and had no reason to run any longer, though it may return to Broadway again next Christmas.
Dead Accounts and Grace were the only two straight plays among today’s Broadway closures. Despite boasting film stars (Katie Holmes in Dead Accounts and Paul Rudd in Grace) in their casts, both shows struggled to sell more than a middling number of tickets throughout late autumn and early winter.
A play with music, War Horse was a popular and highly acclaimed show that enjoyed a healthy run but decided to close once ticket sales were starting to run out of steam. Chaplin, on the other hand, one of the first musicals to open this season, had a difficult time during its entire run. Leading man Rob McClure enjoyed a great deal of positive buzz for his performance, but it wasn’t quite enough to create the great reviews and sensational word-of-mouth that a new musical typically needs to succeed.
