Desperately Seeking Susan is to close at the Novello theatre on 15 December, just a month after its press night. It had been booking until 19 April 2008.
Devised by Peter Michael Marino, Desperately Seeking Susan is a new musical based on the 1985 film of the same name, incorporating the songs of New Wave band Blondie. It stars Kelly Price as bored New Jersey housewife Roberta Glass, who becomes fascinated by the life of Emma Williams’s street-wise New Yorker Susan after reading a series of messages left for her in the personal ads.
A statement released today said: “The producers wish to thank the talented cast, creative team and company for all their hard work and dedication to this production. Despite fantastic performances and enthusiastic audiences, the ticket sales have not been sufficient and the producers have had to make the difficult decision to close the show.”
This is the second consecutive musical to close early at the Novello, after Broadway import The Drowsy Chaperone curtailed its run after two months, earlier in the year.
However, the closure of Desperately Seeking Susan does mean the theatre is free to welcome the play Shadowlands, which is currently running at the Wyndham’s but must leave on 15 December to make way for the return of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys. Shadowlands now takes up residence at the Novello from 21 December.
Based on the true story of Oxford don and author C S Lewis’s tragic romance with American divorcee Joy Gresham, this new production of William Nicholson’s Shadowlands stars Charles Dance and Janie Dee. em>CB