Despite New Stars, Sly Fox to Close August 29

Sly Fox, which just welcomed new stars on August 17, will end its run at the Barrymore Theater on August 29. At the time it closes, it will have played 22 preview and 173 regular performances.

"With great regret, we have decided that the time has come to close the Broadway production of Sly Fox," the producers led by Julian Schlossberg, Roy Furman, Ben Sprecher, Michael Gardner, James Fantaci, Cheryl Lachowicz, Christine Duncan and Nelle Nugent said in a statement. "We have a terrific new cast, but they have joined us at a time of year when it is difficult to build an audience. This problem is compounded by the difficult weeks we face ahead, beginning with the Republican Convention and the traditional downturn of business in September."

Larry Gelbart's Sly Fox centers on devious conman Foxwell J. Sly, who, with his servant Simon Able, sets out to rob from the rich to give to himself. It's the dawn of the Gold Rush in San Francisco, and with everyone falling over themselves with gold fever, Foxwell and his trusty assistant set out to swindle as many as they can.

Sly Fox, directed by Arthur Penn, opened at the Barrymore Theatre to mixed to negative reviews on April 1 with Richard Dreyfuss, Eric Stoltz, Bob Dishy, Rene Auberjonois, Bronson Pinchot, Rachel York, Elizabeth Berkley, Professor Irwin Corey, Nick Wyman and Peter Scolari. Dreyfuss, Stoltz, Dishy, Auberjonois and Berkley played their final performance on August 15. Richard Kind, Jason Kravits, Richard Libertini and Carol Kane came on board on August 17. Larry Storch had already joined the cast, replacing Peter Scolari in early August.