The new musical about the Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka will end its Broadway run just a month after the production opened on the stage of the Longacre Theater.
The decision to end Lempicka was announced in a brief message on its website, noting that the final performance will be May 19. Representatives for the show and star Eden Espinosa did not return requests for comment.
“We are so proud of our production and the countless artists and artisans who’ve shaped it,” the musical’s producers said in an Instagram post. “Few knew better than Tamara de Lempicka that art isn’t easy but always worth the effort.”
The closure of the show came after mixed-to-negative reviews. Among the pans, critics found the production to be “messy” (Time Out) and said it took a “potentially fascinating character and turns her into another weepy, boring victim” (The Wrap). Espinosa, however, has been singled out for her portrayal of the artist in reviews by the New York Times and Variety, which praised her for bringing “both luminosity and strength to her powerful performance.”
Just days earlier, Lempicka scored three Tony Award nominations, though was snubbed from the Best Musical category—as Espinosa was honored for playing the titular character with her first nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
“So many of you have checked on me. I am not okay,” Espinosa said in an Instagram story on Sunday. “I have not really had a chance to grieve or process. It has been a crazy week, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.”
In her Instagram story, Espinosa further offered to answer fans’ questions about her process in preparing for the role or more information about the artist she is playing. The actor previously discussed her work in Lempicka in an interview with Artnet News before the show opened.
The Broadway star, who first made her mark by portraying Elphaba in Wicked, also shared posts from fans who praised the musical for highlighting LGBTQ themes, which particularly struck a chord with queer and lesbian women, and who lamented the closing of the show.
“Whoever decided to close this show can kick rocks,” a fan named Amy Foster shared. Others said that new musicals deserve better treatment and that Lempicka should have been given a longer run.
Ticket sales during the month the show ran were “anemic,” as described by the New York Times, which reported that the show had grossed $288,102 as of two weeks ago.
The show had a long run-up before it made it to the Broadway stage. Development began a decade ago with the first production opening at the Williamstown Theater Festival in 2018. It was supposed to go to San Diego in early 2020, but was delayed by lockdowns. It ultimately opened at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2022. Even after the first press preview on Broadway, the show had changed dramatically before opening, Espinosa said last month.
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