Chita Rivera and cast in The Visit at the Lyceum Theatre, New York. The musical closes on 14 June. Picture: Thom Kaine
It took some 14 years for The Visit, the last musical to be written by the revered team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, to reach Broadway after its premiere production in Chicago in 2001, but its stay has proven to be sadly brief. The show, which began previews on 26 March for a 23 April opening, has posted a closing notice for Sunday 14 June.
The news came in the aftermath of the Tony Awards. The production received five nominations, but won none. The defeat coming in the face of struggling ticket sales obviously prompted the closing. The show boasted a highly admired Kander and Ebb score and a towering performance by the 82-year-old Broadway luminary Chita Rivera. But its dark satirical story of revenge and greed, well told in Terrence McNally’s book based on the play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, failed to ignite audience interest.
The Visit makes the fifth new musical production of the just-ended 2014/15 Broadway season to close. Doctor Zhivago dropped its final curtain in April after it was totally ignored by Tony Award nominators.
Honeymoon in Vegas, a blithe romp which received a bevy of rapturous critical notices, suffered at the box office from its start and shuttered even before the Tony nominations were announced.
Earlier closings included The Last Ship, well praised but mainly for its score by Sting, and the reimagined revival of Side Show, which also gained critical huzzahs. Exactly why these shows failed to fill seats can probably be debated forever. But it all boils down to the unpredictability implied in the old adage: Well, that’s showbusiness for you.
Ron Cohen
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The Visit – Lyceum Theatre, New York – Review
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