Could it be tragic?
Page Six has learned that legendary crooner Barry Manilow and his husband/manager Garry Kief are “fighting horribly” because Manilow’s Broadway run has gone awry.
We’re told that the trouble began because Manilow wanted the run to be very short — similar to Morrissey’s 10-day blitz at the Lunt-Fontanne in May, which reportedly made $1.9 million — perhaps even just a week long.
But we’re told Kief — who married the “Could It Be Magic” crooner in 2014 after 39 years together — pushed to do a months-long residency similar to Bruce Springsteen’s stretch from last October to December.
In the end, they split the difference and did the three-week run, also at the Lunt-Fontanne.
But The Post has reported it’s struggling to sell tickets and the “Copacabana” star is facing an “ocean of empty seats.”
The Post’s Richard Morgan wrote in July that while opening night at a Saturday show early in the run were nearly sold out, “about half the seats for the next three weeks … are still empty.”
“If he weren’t his husband, Barry would have fired Garry by now,” said a backstage source.
Sources say that the “disaster” has come between them personally, and since they arrived in New York for the stand, Bazza and Gazza have been “fighting almost daily,” including some backstage blow-ups at the Lunt-Fontanne.
Making matters worse, we’re told that because of their various business arrangements, Manilow could end up losing money on this run, while his husband could end up making bank on it.
That’s because, we’re told, Kief takes a salary as an executive producer, while Manilow gets the gate but is on the hook for the cost of the production.
Said a source, “It’s terrible. Barry’s up there at 76 years of age, and Garry’s sitting in the back of the theater eating bonbons.”
Kief and a rep for Manilow didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.