Irena, Accent, The Philanthropist, and August All Close on Broadway

A quartet of shows are having their final performances on Broadway today. Two of them, Accent on Youth (starring David Hyde Pierce) and The Philanthropist (starring Matthew Broderick), produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and Roundabout Theatre Company, respectively, have finished their limited runs. But Irena's Vow and August: Osage County were open-ended Broadway runs that are only concluding now because of low ticket sales. August has had an unusually successful run for a Broadway play, having begun its highly acclaimed limited engagement at the Imperial Theatre in late 2007, then transferring to the Music Box Theatre so that it could enjoy a continuing run (winning the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize for author Tracy Letts along the way). Unfortunately the show is closing shortly after Phylicia Rashad took over the major role of family matriarch Violet, a part that has already earned her raves from many of the audiences who have had a chance to see August in the last few weeks.

The Philanthropist Starring Matthew Broderick Begins On Broadway

The new Roundabout Theatre Company production of the 1970 play The Philanthropist, directed by David Grindley, starts performances at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway today, April 10. The production stars Matthew Broderick, who has appeared on Broadway in such shows as How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Producers, and The Odd Couple. In The Philanthropist, which playwright Christopher Hampton (Les Liaisons Dangereuses) wrote as a response to Moliere's classic The Misanthrope, Broderick plays a university professor oblivious to the chaos around him. Also starring in this production are actors Steven Weber, Jonathan Cake, Anna Madeley, Samantha Soule, Jennifer Mudge, and Tate Ellington. The Philanthropist will have its official Broadway opening at the American Airlines on April 26, and the play is scheduled to have a limited run through June 28.