Broadway's Bye Bye Birdie Goes Bye-Bye

The Roundabout Theatre Company production of the musical Bye Bye Birdie, the first-ever Broadway revival of this regional and amateur theater mainstay, is closing at the newly refurbished Henry Miller's Theatre today. Starring John Stamos (Full House on TV, Cabaret on Broadway), Gina Gershon, and Bill Irwin, Bye Bye Birdie was disliked by the critics but managed to do good enough ticket sales early in the run to merit an extension. Initially, the production was selling tickets through to April, but, presumably due to low ticket sales or to a failure to get suitable replacements for Stamos and Gershon when their contracts expired, Roundabout moved up the show's closing date to January 24. The Dame Edna/Michael Feinstein show All About Me will take up residence at the Henry Miller's Theatre following Birdie's departure.

Early Closings For Two Broadway Revivals

Although it has been a hit with audiences (if not critics), the producers of the Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie just announced that the musical will be closing on January 24. Technically, that counts as a two-week extension for the limited-run production, but the closing announcement is still a bit of a surprise considering that Bye Bye Birdie had started selling tickets through late April, thus indicating that the show was settling in for a long extended run. The problem may be that star John Stamos is set to exit on January 24 and couldn't be persuaded to renew his contract - nor could a suitable star be found to replace him. Another surprise early closing is the Broadway revival of David Mamet's drama Oleanna. A closing date in January was announced only a couple weeks ago, but the producers have now decided to shutter the show even earlier, on December 6.