Off-Broadway Tuner The Ark Played Final Performance November 20

The off-Broadway musical The Ark, which opened to negative reviews last week, played its final performance at 37 Arts on November 20, a production spokesperson confirmed.

The Ark, which was in development for approximately two decades, features music by Michael McLean and book and lyrics by McLean and Kevin Kelly. The tuner takes a contemporary look at the classic story of Noah by showing us the history of his family. Living inside the now infamous floating community to escape a drowning world, this family shows that when facing the challenges of life, we're all in the same boat. Ray Roderick directs.

The rehearsal period for The Ark was filled with cast changes. Originally announced Noah Paul Harmon left and so did his replacement David Hess, with Adrian Zmed stepping in soon before previews began on October 14. Carla Hargrove, who was to play Egyptus, left with Harmon. Her announced replacement Jenelle Lynn Randall also departed the production. The role of Eyptus eventually went to Janeece Aisha Freeman.

In addition to Zmed and Freeman, the cast of The Ark includes Annie Golden, Marie-France Arcilla, D.B Bonds, Justin Brill, Julie Foldesi, Jacquelyn Piro, Chuck Ragsdale and Rob Sutton. The tuner opened to negative reviews on November 14. In his Broadway.com Review, Rob Kendt wrote: "With the exception of a few big numbers, most of this labored, lukewarm concoction, directed by Ray Roderick, plays like Sunday-school story-theater with higher production values.”

Producers of The Ark put up a provisional closing notice up on Wednesday, but continued to look for outside backers to support the show. On Thursday they took tickets for all dates after November 20 off sale. However, by Friday, producers appeared to secure new money people, encouraging outlets to put tickets back on sale. This funding fell through though and the show closed.