The Off Broadway musical “Murder Ballad,†one of several new shows hoping to draw audiences with an immersive theater experience and nightclub atmospherics like cocktails, will close on July 21 after 17 preview performances and 70 regular performances, the producers announced on Thursday night.
A rock musical about sexual betrayal among four young New Yorkers, “Murder Ballad†received critical acclaim at the nonprofit Manhattan Theater Club last fall and attracted a team of commercial producers, who re-mounted the show in May at the Union Square Theater downtown. The commercial production cost $1.6 million; it will close at a financial loss.
The vibe of the show is reflected in the bar onstage, which serves beer and wine before performances to audience embers, some of whom sit at cocktail tables in the playing area where the actors perform, fight and make up around them. Other Off Broadway shows that are aiming for a club feel â€" and a club crowd â€" include “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,†running in a tent in the meatpacking district, and “Here Lies Love,†at the nonprofit Public Theater through July 28. Some producers have been eyeing “Here Lies Love†for a commercial transfer after the Public run concludes.
