In the first sign of fallout from the recent announcement of the Tony nominations, producers of the Broadway musical “Amelie” have decided to throw in the towel, posting a closing notice for later this month.
With a cast led by “Hamilton” star Phillipa Soo, “Amelie” opened to largely unenthusiastic reviews April 3, and weekly sales were soft enough to suggest the show could use the boost of publicity and interest that a few Tony nominations might bring its way. But the musical was shut out of the nominations entirely.
In the approximately two months since “Amelie” began Broadway performances, weekly grosses have never broken the $600,000 mark. Last week’s tally came in at about $375,000, with attendance down at 63%.
Based on Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 movie starring Audrey Tautou, “Amelie” follows a shy young Parisian woman who bestows random acts of kindness on strangers. With a score by Daniel Messe and Nathan Tysen and book by Craig Lucas, the show premiered at Berkeley Rep in 2015 and played a pre-Broadway run at Center Theater Group’s Ahmanson Theater last year.
Warner Music Group will release the musical’s original Broadway cast album digitally May 19 (with in-store sales starting June 9). “Amelie” will close at the Walter Kerr Theater May 21.
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