“Swept Away,” a musical that mixed together a shipwreck, cannibalism and the music of the Avett Brothers, hoped to defy conventional wisdom about what constitutes a Broadway hit. Instead it announced Thursday that it will wrap up its short run this month. The production, which began previews Oct. 29 and opened Nov. 19, will take a final bow on Dec. 15. When the curtain comes down, it will have played 20 previews and 32 regular performances.
“Swept Away” earned mixed reviews and failed to catch on with audiences. Last week, for instance, it earned $412,182 and played to 61% capacity — a disastrous result for a show of this size.
The closure comes on the heels of news that “Tammy Faye,” a musical that cost $25 million to produce and included music by Elton John, would end its run on Dec. 8 after 24 preview and 29 regular performances. There’s been a wave of such notices, with “Back to the Future: The Musical,” “Suffs,” and “Water for Elephants” all recently announcing that they would close after suffering disappointing ticket sales. However, those shows played for months. “Swept Away” and “Tammy Faye” failed to show similar endurance.
“Swept Away” tells the story of four survivors of a maritime disaster who are cast adrift and forced to make terrible decisions. It was inspired by the Avett Brothers’ album “Mignonette,” and boasted a book by John Logan, the writer of plays such as “Red” and films like “Gladiator.” Michael Mayer directed a cast that included John Gallagher Jr., Stark Sands, Adrian Blake Enscoe and Wayne Duvall. The show’s producers include Matthew Masten, Sean Hudock, and Gigi Pritzker’s Madison Wells Live.
