Lysistrata Jones Closing on Broadway

The Broadway musical Lysistrata Jones, which began at the Dallas Theater Center in early 2010 as Give It Up!, is closing on Sunday, Jan. 8, according to Playbill.com and other Broadway sources. Here's the New York Times story.

The show, which kept its Dallas cast mostly in tact, stars Dallas favorite and Dallas Theater Center Resident Acting Ensemble member Liz Mikel. The musical is inspired by the Aristophanes comedy Lysistrata, and features music and lyrics by Lewis Flinn and a book by Douglas Carter Beane. It was directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges, who did those same duties in Dallas.

The show opened on Broadway on Dec. 14 after a month of previews (and a successful off-Broadway run earlier in 2011). The New York Times gave it a rave (both times) and the other Broadway reviews ranged from raves to pans. We did a roundup of the reviews here.

From the New York Times story:

The producers never disclosed the capitalization amount for Lysistrata Jones, but, with grosses totaling only $1.1 million for seven weeks of performances so far, the show is likely to close at a complete financial loss to investors.

No matter what the opinions of the show, though, everyone loved Mikel. We're looking forward to seeing what's next for her.

There has not been word yet on whether there will be a cast recording. We hope. The show did get to have some crossover with a Broadway musical that features another Dallas Theater Center Resident Acting Ensemble member, Cedric Neal. He's in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, which is currently in previews and opens Jan. 12.