Hughie, Starring Oscar Winner Forest Whitaker, Will Close Early on Broadway

It may have been one of the most highly anticipated Broadway debuts of the season, however the Forest Whitaker-led Hughie will shutter early on March 27; it had been set to play through June 12. At the time of its closing, the production will have played 55 performances at the Booth Theatre.

Directed by Michael Grandage, Eugene O’Neill’s classic one-act also stars Tony winner Frank Wood and began previews on February 8, officially opening on February 25.

Hughie is set in the lobby of a small Midtown hotel on the West Side of Manhattan. Whitaker plays Erie Smith, a drunken, small-time hustler who is mourning the recent death of the hotel’s night clerk, Hughie. Erie regales the new night clerk (Wood) with tall tales of his glory days and times spent with Hughie.

The two-hander premiered on Broadway in 1964 with Jason Robards in the role of Erie Smith; it was last seen on the Great White Way in 1996 in a production directed by and starring Al Pacino.

Broadway.com customers with tickets to canceled performances will be contacted with information on refunds or exchanges.