Mega-Musical The Pirate Queen to End Brief Broadway Run on June 17

Broadway's epic Irish-themed musical The Pirate Queen will close on Sunday, June 17 at the Hilton Theatre. The tuner, which was left out of the 2007 Tony Award races recently by receiving zero nominations, will have played 32 previews and 85 performances at the time of closing.

The mega-musical, which is rumored to have cost over $15 million, opened on April 5 to negative reviews. Directed by Frank Galati, it underwent extensive revisions following an out-of-town tryout at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre in late 2006. It is financed by Moya Doherty and John McColgan, producers who found great success across the world with Riverdance.

The Pirate Queen, is based on the real-life story of the legendary Irish pirate chieftain, Grace "Grania" O'Malley Stephanie J. Block, who was a pirate, chieftain, lover and mother in 16th century Ireland. O'Malley was one of the last Irish clan leaders to resist the English conquest of Gaelic Ireland. The tuner features a book by Boublil and Schönberg, music by Schönberg and lyrics by Boublil and John Dempsey The Witches of Eastwick. The show is based upon the novel Grania—She King of the Irish Seas by Morgan Llywelyn.

A cast recording of The Pirate Queen will be released on Masterworks Broadway on July 3.