Bingo Picks its Last Winner Off-Broadway on February 12

Bingo, which went to an abbreviated three-show-a-week performance schedule in mid-January, will end its run at St. Luke's Theatre on February 12. At the time it closes, it will have played 19 previews and 92 regular performances.

In Bingo, the audience gets to join in the game at Hamerin County's St. Luke's Church basement, where they meet--among others--Vern Liz McCartney, Honey Liz Larsen and Patsy Janet Metz, three pals who have driven through a terrible thunderstorm in the name of their weekly obsession. In between the number calling, strange rituals and fierce competitions, love blossoms and estranged friends reunite, sending everyone home a winner. The show features a book by Michael Heitzman and Ilene Reid and lyrics and music by Heitzman, Reid and David Holcenberg.

Bingo, directed by Thomas Caruso, opened off-Broadway on November 7. In his Broadway.com Review of the tuner, William Stevenson wrote: "It's not a good sign when the best thing about a show is the free food. At the new musical Bingo, you get popcorn on the way in and cake on the way out. Too bad the 90 minutes in between are almost entirely forgettable."

The show played eight performances a week until mid-January. At that time, General Manager Carol Fishman said in a statement: "This winter, during what is often considered a less-than-prosperous time in the theatre business, we have decided to implement a temporary weekend performance schedule. It is a decision that makes great business sense for the long term success of Bingo. Our box office remains healthy for weekend performances throughout January and February. We expect Bingo to resume a regular eight-show-per-week playing schedule sometime this spring."

In addition to McCartney, Larsen and Metz, the cast includes Klea Blackhurst, Chevi Colton, Patrick Ryan Sullivan and Jessica-Snow Wilson.