Opening Night Becomes Closing Night for New Musical Glory Days

Producers of the Broadway musical Glory Days have announced that the show played its final performance on opening night at the Circle in the Square. The youthful musical, which began performances on April 22, played 17 previews and one regular performance.

Glory Days transferred to Broadway after a successful run at the Signature Theatre of Virginia and was directed by Signature artistic director Eric Schaeffer. A coming-of-age story written by a pair of 23-year-olds, Nick Blaemire music and lyrics and James Gardiner book, the musical starred Steven Booth, Andrew C. Call, Adam Halpin and Jesse JP Johnson.

A last-minute addition to the Broadway season, Glory Days had not built an advance and received dismissive reviews; it played to 21.85% of capacity for the week ending May 4 and took in just $46,848 at the box office.

In a statement, producers John O'Boyle and Ricky Stevens said, "We adore Glory Days and everyone connected with this production. Sadly, given the overnight reviews and our low advance sales, we believe it is prudent to close the show on Broadway immediately."

In recent seasons, The Blonde in the Thunderbird, starring Suzanne Somers, closed less than a week after opening in 2005; The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, starring Ellen Burstyn, closed the day after opening in 2003; and Bobbi Boland, starring Farrah Fawcett, closed during previews in 2003.

Just before opening night, Blaemire—who is currently acting on Broadway in Cry-Baby—sounded a philosophical note in discussing Glory Days with Broadway.com, saying, "As much as I welcome anyone's opinion, I have to stick to my guns. I'll survive. Because at the end of the day, it's just a musical."