‘Sister Act,’ ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Set to Close on Broadway

As CBS News puts it: “God is having a tough month on Broadway.” The news organization is referring to the recent announcement that the musical adaptation of “Sister Act” will be closing in August, and it is extremely likely that the revival of “Jesus Christ Superstar” will close before that.

Producers announced yesterday that “Sister Act” will close August 26, ending what will then be a 16-month run that included nearly 600 performances. The production opened on Broadway in April of last year after a stint in London.

The lead role of Deloris Van Cartier, played by Whoopi Goldberg in the popular 1992 film version, currently is played by former “The Cosby Show” and “That’s So Raven” star Raven-Symone. Cartier is a nightclub singer who becomes a nun to disguise herself after accidentally witnessing a murder. The role was originally played by Patina Miller, who earned a Tony Award Nomination.

In all, the production received five Tony Award nominations – including one for Best Musical – but ended up winning none. Reports state that the show took in $655,744 last week at the Broadway Theatre, which is less than half of its earning potential. However, for fans of the musical, there is a silver lining to the announcement.

The show will kick off a North American tour on October 2 in Toronto. There also are currently three touring version of the show in Europe, and the touring versions of the musical has proved extremely popular so far. New touring versions are being planned for Moscow, Madrid, Prague, Sao Paolo, South Korea and Japan.

As for “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the show has not officially announced a closing date, but producers offered the warning that the show will close July 1 if business doesn’t improve before that date. The current Broadway production is a new revival of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical.