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NEW YORK – The Beatles tribute show Let It Be will close on Broadway four months earlier than planned due to slow ticket sales.
Producers announced Monday that the production’s final performance at the St. James Theatre will be Sept. 1, rather than the previously scheduled date of Dec. 29.
A British import, the show has been playing successfully since fall 2012 in London, where producers say it has sold over 250,000 tickets, grossing more than $14 million. It continues performances through mid-January at the Savoy Theatre.
However, in the five weeks since its Broadway engagement began previews on July 16, grosses for Let It Be have never topped $400,000. Last week it played to just 40 percent capacity houses. The show’s projected cumulative box office by closing date is between $2 million and $2.4 million.
In addition to tepid reviews, business in New York no doubt was cramped by coming so soon after Rain, another Beatles tribute show that ran on Broadway from October 2010 through July 2011. The producers of that show have filed a lawsuit against Let It Be, claiming overwhelming similarities between the two productions, which trace the group’s history and major chart successes in a concert format with stand-in musicians.
Despite the fast flop of Let It Be on Broadway, castmembers and physical production elements will be repurposed for North American and U.K. tours as well as international productions.
The show is produced on Broadway by Jeff Parry/Annerin Productions, Yasuhiro Kawana, BB Promotion, Rubin Fogel and Jujamcyn Theaters.
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