Tomorrow Motown: The Musical will reach its 500-performance milestone at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Though the jukebox musical's box office receipts have dropped significantly since peaking in December 2013, June has seen an uptick.
One block north at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, the Cotton Club-inspired musical revue After Midnight showcasing the music of Duke Ellington is on course to close this weekend--but current special guest star Patti LaBelle is campaigning to find last-ditch funding for an extension.
The Grammy winner told ABC News Radio, "I have angels working, people that I hope will come to the play and put some money up to keep it alive...This play is so wonderful, so my heart is broken for the cast."
Assuming After Midnight closes as scheduled, Gladys Knight and Natalie Cole will not get their chances to appear as planned.
What a difference a few decades in music history make. Now also playing in Chicago, Motown: The Musical continues its Broadway run charting the rise of Motown founder Berry Gordon and his stable of hitmakers like Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye as they broke barriers and created "the soundtrack that changed our lives." The show grossed $1,061,896 last week compared to After Midnight's $649,664.
