Redwood, the Broadway musical starring Idina Menzel, will close on Sunday, May 18, producers announced one day after the production failed to receive a single Tony Award nomination.
“While we had of course hoped for a longer run, we’re incredibly grateful to have been able to tell this beautiful story for the time we’ve been given,” producers Eva Price and Caroline Kaplan said. “Redwood has been a labor of love since the very beginning of this process, and we are immensely proud of the incredible work our cast, crew, and creative team have wholeheartedly poured into this production. The themes of connection and community have really resonated with audiences, and we’ll take that with us long after the show closes on Broadway.”
The musical, in which Menzel plays a grief-stricken woman who embarks on a cross-country journet to find solace in a West Coast redwood forest, has been struggling at the box office after opening on February 13 to middling reviews. Last week attendance at the show was only 75% of capacity.
Redwood, written and directed by Tina Landau (whose Floyd Collins received six Tony nominations Thursday), began previews at the Nederlander Theatre on January 24. At closing, it will have played 127 performances, including 17 preview performances.
The closing was announced by producers Price, Kaplan and Loudmouth Media. Redwood is the first Broadway closing to be announced in the wake of the Tony Award nominations announced on May 1.
In addition to Menzel, the primary cast of Redwood includes De’Adre Aziza, Michael Park, Zachary Noah Piser and Khaila Wilcoxon.
Throughout its time on Broadway, Redwood partnered with several organizations to help raise awareness and funds to support the themes depicted in the show. Through these partnerships, the show helped raise more than $2,000,000 for these social impact organizations, including $1,500,000 for Save the Redwoods League, $250,000 for A BroaderWay, $180,000 for Broadway Cares and $40,000 for Julia Butterfly Hill’s nonprofit Circle of Life. In addition, through a collaboration with Redwood Empire Whiskey, more than 400 trees were planted in the month of April and separately, more than 50 redwood trees were planted at the Gateway to Big Basin Redwoods State Park in honor of the show’s cast and crew.
