Elaine Paige in The Drowsy Chaperone
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The London import of the Broadway hit The Drowsy Chaperone at the Novello Theatre has posted a closing notice to end its run on 4 August. The show opened on 6 June 2007 (following previews from 14 May), and was originally accepting bookings to 23 February 2008.
In a statement announcing the closure, co-producer Kevin McCollum stated, “We are incredibly proud of The Drowsy Chaperone which we have seen grow from a 30-minute vignette into a multi award-winning Broadway musical. London ticket sales for our show have been slower than needed to sustain a longer run at the Novello. Whilst regrettably having made the decision to close the show we are pleased to have brought this wonderfully original new musical to the West End with a first class company who have brought to life a production we are incredibly proud of.”
The show continues to run at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre, where it opened on 1 May 2006. A North American tour will begin in Toronto in September, and international companies are also currently being prepared for Japan and Australia.
The news of the London closure was announced just the day before co-creator Bob Martin’s departure from the show in the lead role of Man in Chair, in whose apartment the show-within-the-show comes to life as he plays the original cast album of it. From 10 July, as previously announced here Steve Pemberton (of the League of Gentlemen fame) replaces him.