Broadway ‘Annie’ to Close in January
Producers of the Broadway revival of musical “Annie” have posted the show’s closing notice, announcing the production will shutter Jan. 5.
“Annie,” which began previews Oct. 3 at the Palace Theater, logged its most consistently strong box office numbers in the early months of its run, particularly during holiday frames. Since then sales have tended to fluctuate, with Jane Lynch’s guest stint in the show earlier this summer yielding million-dollar weeks. For the sesh ending 9/1, the tuner grossed $720,823 and played to houses that averaged 66% of capacity.
Although the 1977 tuner is a fave among family auds, director James Lapine’s production earned a mixed bag of reviews in the wake of its Nov. 8 opening. With the addition this spring of “Cinderella” and “Matilda” to the Broadway boards, the show also faced increased competition for the female-skewing family demo that would seem to make up a target audience for “Annie.”
Revival currently stars Anthony Warlow as Daddy Warbucks, Lilla Crawford as the titular moppet and Faith Prince as the villainous Miss Hannigan, playing the role earlier portrayed by Lynch and Katie Finneran in the production.
Backed by a team of producers led by Arielle Tepper Madover, “Annie” is already on tap for a national tour that will go out during the 2014-15 season. Show’s Jan. 5 closing on Broadway is timed to take advantage of the traditional box office boom that traditionally hits the Rialto during the year-end holiday weeks.
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