Tuck Everlasting, the Broadway show about a family who discovers a magical, life-giving stream in a forest, could have used its own magical, live-giving stream, maybe in the gutter of 44th Street, because the musical is closing. Regardless of praise from the New York Times (a critic’s pick!), or the Tony-nominated credentials of the cast and writer — or its Tony-winning director, Casey Nicholaw, who, sadly, also choreographed The Book of Mormon — the show will not last more than 39 shows. And they were so close to 40!
The show will have precisely run from April 26 thru May 29. Bummer. The show received only one Tony nomination, for Best Costume Design — a feat that generally speaks ill toward a new show’s longevity, as well as it’s general quality.
The story itself was based on the 1975 book by Natalie Babbitt, which was then adapted to two feature films. (The most recent, released in 2002, barely made $20mil.) The motivation for this play’s production is a stark question-mark, then, as it’s not a particularly great story, and has not proved to be a particularly popular basis for films — the only time we seem to hear about the source material anymore is in this fairly depressing context, actually. Just another show to add to the list of Hollywood-inspired Broadway flops.