By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN – Broadway’s “Ragtime” has extended its season by one week, but "Finian's Rainbow" will also close next month due to tough times.
The Broadway revival of "Finian's Rainbow'' at St. James Theatre will close on January 17, after what will be 92 regular season performances and 22 previews.
The play about an Irish dreamer and his daughter opened on Oct. 29 to favorable reviews.
But producers said they could not cope with “the economic realities of Broadway today,” NY1 reported.
“Finian’s Rainbow” is the latest of a spate of productions to close in recent months due to fiscal issues for Broadway.
In the lead-up to 2010, several producers announced shows would end due to poor or unpredictable ticket sales.
Producers hoped “Bye Bye Birdie” with John Stamos would run until the spring. But they said ticket sales weren’t strong enough to sustain additional performances and the musical will close Jan. 24.
“Shrek,” which set a record a the Broadway Theater for weekly gross ticket sales of $1,260,282 over the Christmas week last year, will close Jan. 3 after 441 performances due to diminishing profits.
“Oleanna” with Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles never made it to the holiday season. Producers announced the play would close four weeks early, on Dec. 6, after poor sales over Thanksgiving weekend.
“Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Broadway Bound” were canceled barely after they started their seasons in late October because of weak box office returns.
But producers of the musical “Ragtime,” which was scheduled to close this weekend, said the show will see another week with a final performance now on Jan. 10.
Producers say they saw a last minute boost in sales, allowing the production to continue longer.
