Martin McDonaugh’s “Hangmen” will not resume performances on Broadway, the play’s producers announced Friday.
“Hangmen” played 13 previews at the Golden Theatre and was scheduled to open on March 19. This is the first Broadway show since the 30-day shutdown was announced on March 12 to announce closing. Producers Robert Fox, Jean Doumanian, Elizabeth McCann and Craig Balsam cited a lack of financial resources as the reason the show would not resume.
The show was capitalized for up to $4.75 million, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The announcement comes after the Broadway League told productions they would need to announce closing by late Friday evening if they could not pay union members for an agreed upon period of time, according to a source familiar with the matter. A press agent for “Hangmen” said this did not prompt the closing notice, but rather there were “a variety of reasons” that went into the decision to close.
“With no definite end in sight of the government’s closure and Broadway’s suspension, we have no alternative but to release the actors from their contracts and close the production,” the “Hangmen” producers said in a press release. “Given our show’s budget and capitalization, we do not have the economic resources to be able to continue to pay the theater owners, cast and crew through this still undefined closure period. Therefore, in the interests of all involved, we regretfully have no choice but to close the show. We are all extremely disappointed that we cannot give Martin McDonagh and our fabulous director, cast and team the celebrated opening they all deserve.”
The production was directed by Matthew Dunster and featured a cast of 12 as well as four understudies. The play transferred to Broadway after playing a sold-out run at the Atlantic Theater last winter. “Hangmen” originated in London, where it later went on to win the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Play.
In its brief run on Broadway, “Hangmen” had not yet reported a full week of grosses. It played seven performances in the week ended March 8 and grossed $357,100, 48% of its gross potential.
