Bad Cinderella has set a final Broadway performance for June 4 at the Imperial Theatre. As of the final curtain, the production will have played 33 previews and 85 performances. Its closing marks the second casualty of the 2023 Tony Award Nominations, for which the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical received no nominations. The production opened at the Imperial March 23 after beginning previews February 17. Laurence Connor is at the helm after staging the work's 2021 West End premiere.
The musical, featuring a book by Oscar-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell, music by Lloyd Webber, and lyrics by Tony winner David Zippel, reimagines the classic fairytale to center around a damsel—but this one is not in distress. "I'm not your Cinderella. I'm Bad Cinderella," teased leading lady Linedy Genao at a press event announcing the production last year.
Despite the well-known name in its title and on its creative team, Bad Cinderella struggled to find an audience. The reviews of the show were not kind. Even though the show made light of its critical reception, posting a video where the New York Times review was painted over with a can of pink spray paint (a motif in the show), the weekly box office grosses were not enough to keep Bad Cinderella dancing. This, coupled with the lack of Tony Award nominations, has rung the show's final stroke of midnight.
The Broadway run follows a short-lived West End premiere (then titled simply Cinderella) that began performances in June 2021 even as COVID restrictions still in place limited audience sizes to 50 percent of the Gillian Lynne Theatre's usual capacity. Following an opening night postponed by cases of COVID within the company, the musical ultimately shuttered June 12, 2022.
Bad Cinderella's closure will mark the first time Broadway has not had an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical running since 1979. Since the original production of Evita opened that year, long-running hits Cats and The Phantom of the Opera kept the British composer on the boards for more than four decades. Cats ended its 18-year run in 2000, and Phantom closed its historic 35-year run last month.
Company of Bad Cinderella
Grace McLean and Carolee Carmello in Bad Cinderella
Christina Acosta Robinson and cast of Bad Cinderella
Company of Bad Cinderella
Linedy Genao in Bad Cinderella
Jordan Dobson in Bad Cinderella
Jordan Dobson in Bad Cinderella
Linedy Genao and Jordan Dobson in Bad Cinderella
Jordan Dobson and Grace McLean in Bad Cinderella
Linedy Genao in Bad Cinderella
Morgan Higgins and Sami Gayle in Bad Cinderella
Carolee Carmello in Bad Cinderella
Linedy Genao in Bad Cinderella
Linedy Genao leads the cast in the title role, alongside Carolee Carmello as Stepmother, Grace McLean as Queen, Jordan Dobson as Prince Sebastian, Sami Gayle as Adele, Morgan Higgins as Marie, Christina Acosta Robinson as Godmother, Cameron Loyal as Prince Charming, and Savy Jackson as Cinderella at certain performances.
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The musical's ensemble comprises Mike Baerga, Raymond Baynard, Lauren Boyd, Tristen Buettel, Kaleigh Cronin, Josh Drake, Ben Lanham, Ángel Lozada, Mariah Lyttle, Sarah Meahl, Larkin Reilly, Julio Rey, Lily Rose, J Savage, Dave Schoonover, Tregoney Shepherd, Paige Smallwood, and Aléna Watters. Rounding out the company as swings are Alyssa Carol, Gary Cooper, Michael Milkanin, Robin Masella, Chloé Nadon-Enriquez, and Lucas Thompson; and understudy Christian Probst.
The production features additional book material by Alexis Scheer, choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, orchestrations by Lloyd Webber, U.S. music supervision and direction by Kristen Blodgette, U.K. music supervision by David Andrew Wilson, music coordination by David Lai, scenic and costume design by Gabriela Tylesova, lighting design by Bruno Poet, sound design by Gareth Owen, and hair and wig design by Luc Verschueren.
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Bonnie L. Becker is production stage manager, and casting is by Tara Rubin Casting's Claire Burke and Kevin Metzger-Timson.
Producing the work's Broadway bow are No Guarantees, The Really Useful Group, James L. Nederlander, The Shubert Organization, Lynda Carter, Peter May, Wendy Bingham Cox, and André and France Chrétien Desmarais, with Sue Wagner, John Johnson, and Jillian Robbins serving as executive producers.
