Four day notice for crew as popular Las Vegas residency abruptly ends run
A Tony award-winning musical that was due to run in Las Vegas for at least a year has been suddenly cancelled.
Jersey Boys - chronicling the 1960s rise of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - only began its run in February at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Sin City.
Two previous runs in Las Vegas - each of four years - had been huge successes, frequently selling out much bigger venues than the Orleans.
Producer John Bentham notified the cast on Wednesday that the final performance would be on Sunday.
He blamed it on 'circumstances beyond our control.' But a lack of ticket sales appears to be the reason.
Jersey Boys has won four Tony Awards and had two previous four year runs in Las Vegas, but its latest run in Sin City lasted only five months
A lack of ticket sales appears to be the reason. A screenshot shared on Facebook on June of the following night's availability showed that only ten percent of seats had been sold.
About 55 members, including the 18-person cast and 10 musicians, will be out of work. That does not include ushers and box office staff.
Six miles west of the strip, the Orleans has limited foot traffic and attracts more budget-conscious guests than the likes of The Palazzo, where Jersey Boys made its hugely successful debut 16 years ago.
Originally a Broadway sensation from 2005 to 2017, Jersey Boys won four Tony Awards, including best musical in 2006.
It was adapted for its Las Vegas debut at The Palazzo on May 3, 2008. It played to packed houses at the newly built 1,600-seat Jersey Boys Theatre until January 1, 2012.
Two months later it reopened at the smaller 1,100-seat Theatre des Arts at Paris Las Vegas, and ran for four more years.
When Jersey Boys returned this year at the Orleans Showroom, it was the hotel's first resident production in its 28 years.
Ticket sales were poor for Jersey Boys
Even though the capacity was smaller still, at 850, tickets costing $70 to $140 were slow to sell.
'Jersey Boys' joins a trend of musicals struggling with ticket sales both on and off the Strip.
The Meat Loaf-themed 'Bat Out of Hell' also faced similar challenges and closed on January 1 after three months at Paris Theater.
