т Despite the fact that Sting’s musical The Last Ship hit a new high last week, grossing almost $1 million, it has been decided to close the production.
The $15 million musical has floundered since it started previews on September 29 and opening on October 26. With an estimated $625,000 needed per week to break even, the show couldn’t sell enough tickets until after Sting joined the cast on December 9. His run ends January 24, which is when the show will close. The announcement was made to the public via Twitter.
While the show is currently making money, it was most likely expected that grosses would once again drop once Sting left the cast. Even with his presence, the nearly $1 million take fell short of the $1,243,260 potential at the Neil Simon Theatre, with 16.7% of the seats still going unfilled.
The $953,165 gross also comes during one of the biggest weeks in Broadway history with nineteen shows exceeding the $1 million mark and two, Wicked and The Lion King, going past $2.5 million.
Critics gave The Last Ship middle of the pack reviews, positive on Sting’s score but critical of the show’s book.