It's curtains for "The Big Knife": The revival of Clifford Odets’ excoriation of Hollywood mores will end its Broadway run on June 2, having been largely shut out from Tony Award nominations.
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The show, which stars "Boardwalk Empire's" Bobby Cannavale, has also had difficulty finding its box office footing during a spring theater season that has overflowed with star driven shows like Tom Hanks' "Lucky Guy" and Bette Midler's "I'll Eat You Last." Last week, "The Big Knife" was the lowest grossing show on Broadway, eking out $229,239 at the box office.
Those figures can be deceptive, however. "The Big Knife" was produced by, a not-for-profit theater organization that has a robust subscription service. The box office numbers do not factor in subscriptions.
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When the cast takes its final bows in two weeks, the show will have played 29 preview performances and 56 regular performances at the American Airlines Theater. That's less than the 109 performances the original production played in 1949. The play always intended to have a limited run and to shut down on June 2nd, a spokesman for the producers told TheWrap.
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"The Big Knife" is a poison pen letter to the movie business and focuses on a screen idol who wants to return to the stage but finds himself thwarted by a manipulative studio boss. Richard Kind ("Spin City") scored the play's lone Tony nomination for his performance as the morally flexible studio chief.