By Michael Kuchwara
New York (AP) -- "Nine," winner of the 2003 Tony Award for best musical revival, will close Dec. 14 after an eight-month run.
The Roundabout Theatre Company production will have played 285 performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where it opened April 10.
The revival, directed by David Leveaux, originally starred Antonio Banderas as a womanizing Italian film director facing a mid-life crisis. Business was strong for the show through early September, but after Banderas left, box-office receipts fell.
Todd Haimes, artistic director of the Roundabout, did not return telephone calls from The Associated Press.
Banderas, who made audiences swoon with his lavishly praised Broadway debut, was a difficult act to follow. He was replaced by John Stamos, who received mixed reviews. Also leaving the cast at the same time as Banderas were Chita Rivera and Jane Krakowski, who won a Tony for her show-stopping performance as Carla, an insecure film actress.
Eartha Kitt took over for Rivera, while Krakowski was to have been replaced by Jenna Elfman, but the star of television's "Dharma and Greg" never went into the show. Sara Gettelfinger, Krakowski's understudy, took over the role.
"Nine" grossed $454,771 during the Thanksgiving holiday week, usually one of the season's best weeks, but the show filled only 72 percent of its seats at the O'Neill. The production also faced a large influx of fall shows, including competition from musicals such as "Avenue Q," "The Boy From Oz," "Wicked" and "Wonderful Town."
"Nine," which has a score by Maury Yeston and a book by Arthur Kopit, is loosely based on the Fellini film classic "8 1/2." The original production of "Nine," directed by Tommy Tune, won a Tony Award for best musical in 1982.
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