Once, the unlikely hit musical about a Dublin street singer and the young Czech woman who befriends him, will close January 4 after nearly three years on Broadway.
Sales have fallen since the show's bright beginning. While weekly grosses exceeded $1,000,000 through much of 2012, in each of the past two full weeks Once grossed under $360,000.
Winner of eight Tony Awards in 2012, Once was based on the 2006 film of the same name starring songwriters Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. The musical retained much of the film's music while giving the cast double duty as actors and orchestra.
Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti originated the lead roles Off-Broadway and went with the show to Broadway, where it opened in March 2012. Kazee won a Tony Award for his performance, Milioti was nominated for a Tony, and the show and director both won Tonys as well--three of the musical's eight total Tony Awards out of 11 nominations. In addition, the cast album won a Grammy Award in 2013.
The music, especially the once-ubiquitous hit "Falling Slowly," had become a fixture in the zeitgeist following the success of the film. "Falling Slowly" was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year. For months it seemed you couldn't walk into a store without hearing it.
In April 2013 Arthur Darvill of Doctor Who and Broadchurch fame took over the role of Guy, which he reprised on the West End earlier this year, and Joanna Christie replaced Milioti as Girl.
When the Broadway run closes January 4 it will have played 1,167 regular performances and 22 previews. A U.S. tour that launched in October 2013 is scheduled to continue through August 2015, and the West End production will run through July 4, 2015.
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