“Mr.Saturday night,Billy Crystal’s musical, about an older comedian trying to restart his career, will wrap up his Broadway show this Labor Day weekend.
The production, like many films during this challenging time on Broadway, has encountered low returns at the box office, having begun pre-screening on March 29 and opening April 27 at the Opera House. Nederlander. The production team announced on Sunday night that its final performance will take place on September 4; By the time it ends, it’s slated to have 28 previews and 116 regular performances.
The musical is about a fictional comedian, Buddy Young Jr., with whom Crystal was portrayed and continued for decades, first as sketches in HBO specials and on “Saturday Night Live,” and then in a 1992 Hollywood film. The musical, like the movie, was written by Crystal, Lowell. Ganz and Babaloo Mandel; it has music by Jason Robert Brown and lyrics by Amanda Green, and is directed by John Rando.
Crystal, 74, once again plays Young, an English-speaker insult comic that uses jokes honed in Jewish resorts in the so-called Ring Borscht in the mid-20th century Catskills, trying to find his relevance in a shifting world. Crystal previously had success on Broadway with a solo show, “700 Sundays,” which first opened in 2004.
Critic Laura Collins-Hughes writes: “Crystal is completely in his element when it comes to live performance. in a review of “Mr. Saturday Night” for The New York Times. “If you’re a fan of his, or simply someone who’s missed the symbiosis between actors and audiences, it’s a pleasure to watch.”
The show was nominated for five Tony Awards, including best musical, book and score, as well as for a performance by Crystal and Shoshana Bean, who played his daughter, but did not win any. Crystal and pea both tested positive for coronavirus in May, and several concerts were cancelled; Similar health challenges have plagued many performances in recent months.
The show is generally held only seven times a week – one less than the industry standard of eight – and its box office receipts were average and declining this summer. For the week ending July 10 – the most recent for which data is available – the show grossed $542,696 for a six-week show, playing to homes that were 61 percent full, according to the Broadway League.
The musical, with James L. Nederlander as lead producer, was invested $10 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That amount has not been refunded.
Crystal is transitioning from Broadway back into television – he plans to star in an Apple+ series, “Before,” which he will also executive produce.
