After just six short weeks on the Great White Way, the Tupac Shakur–themed musical Holler if Ya Hear Me is ending its Broadway run on Sunday. Granted, it is notoriously difficult to predict what will be a hit on Broadway — before it was a huge Broadway success itself, Mel Brooks' The Producers was wryly noting the fickleness of Broadway crowds — but surely a musical about a political rapper was a bigger risk than most.
Last week's half-empty audiences were the last straw, but the $8 million production never brought in more than $175,000 a week, The New York Times reports, making it "one of the worst-selling musicals of recent years." Lead producer Eric L. Gold hinted at the challenge last week, telling Variety that "if we don't succeed, it's going to be difficult to do another rap or hip hop show on Broadway."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Unprepared for a pandemicOpinion What happens if bird flu evolves to spread among humans?
-
6 impressive homes in TorontoFeature Featuring floating stairs in Lytton Park and a two-tiered infinity pool in Banbury-Don Mills
-
Samantha Harvey's 6 favorite books that redefine how we see the worldFeature The Booker Prize-winning author recommends works by Marilynne Robinson, George Eliot, and more
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
