The fall theater season in New York City is drawing to a close as the holiday season picks up steam (tip: When everybody else is shopping, grab last-minute tickets to a show. You'll get much better seats!), and a few more productions have already announced that they won't make it to awards season in Spring.
Big Fish, the musical adaptation of the popular Tim Burton film, will close just after the holidays. In spite of a top-notch Broadway cast, the show didn't generate the same buzz the movie did, and will have run for only three months. Similarly, the Broadway revival of Romeo & Juliet starring Orlando Bloom, Condola Rashad and Brent Carver will close on December 8.
But the biggest buzz has been saved for the much-hyped and beleaguered Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which managed to run for a respectable three years after its much-delayed (and lawsuit-heavy) opening. With a score by Bono and The Edge and designed by Tony-winner Julie Taymor, the show's opening date in 2011 was pushed back multiple times and it (eventually) opened to tepid fanfare. (Patrick Page, who played the Green Goblin with set-chewing glee, earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance.) According to the New York Times, the show's weekly running cost was more than $1 million dollars, and by the time the curtain falls on January 4, it will have lost a record-breaking $60 million. (To be fair, those flying effects were pretty spectacular.)
Tickets to most of these shows are available on TeleCharge.com. Grab them quick!
Related: Two Broadway Shows Post Closing Notices; Two Announced for Coming Seasons
But there's some good news, too! Rumors are flying that Broadway baby Sutton Foster is set to return to the stage in a revival of Violet, a small musical that ran off-Broadway and has since become a staple at regional theaters and colleges across the country. Foster performed in a concert version of the show earlier this year, and this production would mark the show's official Broadway bow. (It's not exactly a toe-tapping kind of show, but its country score by Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley is the kind that sticks with you for months after.) No theater or opening date has been announced yet.
Good to know: Those coming in to town next week to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade may want to catch a show as well, but most will be dark so that the actors and crew members can have dinner with their families. Still, some productions will have performances next Thursday, including Beautiful, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Pippin and the Winslow Boy. Some off-Broadway shows may also have performances that day—and many will add performances on Friday to make up for Thursday.