Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Jenn Harris as Clarice Starling and Brent Barrett as Hannibal Lecter.The Off Broadway show “Silence! The Musical,†an unauthorized parody of the Oscar-winning movie “The Silence of the Lambs,†will close on Dec. 30. Over an 18-month run, the show gained a cult following yet could not manage to earn back its $750,000 capitalization budget. The producers announced on Tuesday that the show â€" which turns on the relationship and battle of wits between FBI agent Clarice Starling and the malevolently brilliant cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in the movie) â€" would wrap up at the Elektra Theater in Times Square after playing 447 regular performances and eight preview performances.
A spokesman for the producers said that ticket sales, which had been robust during the summer and early fall, have not bounced back since Hurricane Sandy.
Many Off Broadway commercial productions struggle to turn a profit; in the case of “Silence!,†its chances were hamstrung by a limited schedule â€" the show held only four to six performances a week for much of its run â€" as well as a relatively large cast of 12 actors and a band. The musical also transferred theaters twice during the course of its run, adding to production costs.
With a score by Jon and Al Kaplan and a book by Hunter Bell, “Silence!†is now also running in Los Angeles, and future productions are being planned for South Africa and London.
