The producers of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a success play that had been packing in audiences earlier than the pandemic, introduced Wednesday that they might shut the present down till June, lay off the forged and crew, downsize the manufacturing after which reopen in a smaller theater.
On the identical time, “Woman From the North Nation,” a heart-tugging musical that makes use of the songs of Bob Dylan to contemplate the Melancholy-era plight of a gaggle of down-on-their-luck Midwesterners within the city the place Dylan was born, stated it might will finish its Broadway run on Jan. 23, and would attempt to reopen in one other theater this spring.
They grew to become the seventh and eighth Broadway exhibits to announce momentary or everlasting deadlines since early December, when the Omicron variant despatched coronavirus instances hovering in New York. Their plans for short-term layoffs observe an instance set by the musical “Mrs. Doubtfire,” which lately stated it might shut for 9 weeks.
The “Mockingbird” transfer is dramatic, particularly for a present that had been enjoying to capability crowds earlier than the pandemic. The present had been considering for a while whether or not a transfer to a smaller theater may make it extra sustainable for a long-term run, and the choice to take action now permits it to keep away from a interval when attendance on Broadway is mushy, and anticipated to stay so, due to the Omicron surge.
“Mockingbird” plans to finish its present run on Sunday after which resume performances within the theater the place “Woman” has been enjoying on June 1. “Mockingbird,” one of many uncommon non-musical productions to ponder a long term on Broadway, has been working since late 2018 on the Shubert Theater, which has 1,435 seats. It now plans to relocate to the Belasco Theater, the place “Woman” has been enjoying, and which has about 1,000 seats.
The producers hope that the transfer to a smaller theater will permit “Mockingbird” to maintain a long-term run.
“Mockingbird,” in fact, is tailored from the novel by Harper Lee, which is without doubt one of the hottest in American historical past — simply final month, New York Instances readers selected it as the perfect guide of the final 125 years. The play, with a script by Aaron Sorkin, had been promoting strongly and is ready to broaden; a North American tour and a London manufacturing are each scheduled to start in March.
“Mockingbird,” which has lengthy since recouped its $7.5 million capitalization prices, initially had Scott Rudin as its lead producer, however he stepped again from lively producing after accusations of bullying, and the manufacturing is now overseen on a day-to-day foundation by Orin Wolf, as govt producer, with Barry Diller as the brand new lead producer.
The present initially starred Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch; he returned to guide the forged when the Broadway shutdown ended, and the character is now performed by Greg Kinnear, who is anticipated to return when the present does.
“Woman From the North Nation,” a heart-tugging musical that makes use of the songs of Bob Dylan to contemplate the Melancholy-era plight of a gaggle of down-on-their-luck Midwesterners within the city the place Dylan was born, has had a troublesome run on Broadway: it opened on March 5, 2020, only a week earlier than the coronavirus pandemic compelled all theaters to shut. After which it was deemed ineligible to compete for that season’s Tony Awards, as a result of too few voters had managed to see it earlier than the business shut down (it’s eligible to compete this season).
The musical, with a guide by the Irish playwright Conor McPherson, resumed performances Oct. 13, 2021, however, with its darkish tone and small scale, by no means actually discovered its footing, regardless of robust prepandemic evaluations in shops together with The New York Instances, by which critic Ben Brantley known as the present “profoundly lovely.”
The musical, which McPherson additionally directed, had begun its life with a 2017 run on the Outdated Vic in London, after which had an Off Broadway run in 2018 on the Public Theater earlier than transferring to Broadway. The lead producers are Tristan Baker and Charlie Parsons, who run a London-based manufacturing firm known as Runaway Leisure. The present was capitalized for as much as $9 million, in accordance with a submitting with the Securities and Change Fee; that cash has not been recouped.