Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Edward Watts and Carolee Carmello in “Scandalous.â€The musical “Scandalous,†Kathie Lee Gifford's Broadway debut as a lyricist and book writer, will close this Sunday after 31 preview performances and 29 regular performances, the producers announced on Tuesday night.
The show opened on Nov. 15 to largely negative reviews, although several critics praised the lead performance of Carolee Carmello as the early 20th century evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. “Scandalous†was the latest attempt by theater artists to create a musical that explored spiritual themes and aimed for audiences who might be drawn to stories about religious figures; some of these shows have had a difficult time selling tickets lately, including the recent productions of “Leap of Faith,†“Godspell,†“Jesus Christ Superstar†and “Sister Act.â€
Box office sales have been weak from the start for “Scandalous,†so much so that two of its producers, Dick and Betsy DeVos, of the Amway family fortune, agreed last week to underwrite the show's financial loses after its standard financial reserve had been depleted. The show, which cost about $9 million to mount on Broadway, will close at a financial loss. In addition to the book and lyrics by M s. Gifford, the show has music by David Pomeranz and David Friedman, and was directed by David Armstrong.
