“Redwood,” a musical starring Idina Menzel, will end its Broadway run on May 18, an unexpectedly early closing announced just 24 hours after the show failed to garner any Tony Awards nominations.
The show’s producers, Eva Price, Caroline Kaplan and Loudmouth Media, which is Menzel’s production company, announced the closing on Friday morning, acknowledging in a statement that “we had of course hoped for a longer run.” It had been scheduled to run at least until Aug. 17.
“Redwood” was among 13 Tony-eligible shows that did not receive any nominations on Thursday. And although it had started off well at the box office, the show faced a worrisome decline in weekly grosses last month. It is the first production to decide to close following the Tony announcements, but it is not likely to be the last — several musicals are exhibiting signs of weakness at the box office at a very competitive and challenging time for Broadway shows, when it has become increasingly difficult for shows to become profitable because the costs of producing have risen.
“Redwood” is a passion project for Menzel and her main collaborator, Tina Landau, who conceived the show with the actress and then wrote the book and directed the production. Kate Diaz wrote the music and collaborated with Landau on the lyrics. It had an initial production last year at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.
The musical is about a New York City gallerist, who, grieving the death of her son, drives cross-country and winds up in a redwood forest, seeking some kind of solace while tree-sitting. The set features enormous LED screens that are used to depict the landscape, and Menzel and several of her co-stars perform part of the show while climbing a large prop tree.
The show was named a Critic’s Pick by Jesse Green of The New York Times, who wrote, “You have to admire the guts it takes to have put a deeply serious show about trauma and resilience on Broadway right now.” But other critics were less impressed; the reviews were mostly mixed to negative.
The producers said that, during the production’s run, the show helped raise more than $2 million for charities, much of it in support of redwood forests.
“Redwood” began previews at the Nederlander Theater on Jan. 24 and opened Feb. 13. At the time of its closing, it will have had 127 performances. It was capitalized for up to $16 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission; that money has not been recouped.
