“Mr. Saturday Night” will wrap up its Broadway run on Sept. 4. Producers behind the show announced the news on Sunday.
The show will have played 28 previews and 116 performances when it concludes its engagement.
Billy Crystal, the driving force behind the stage musical and its star attraction, is moving on in order to begin work on “Before,” an upcoming Apple TV+ series that he’s appearing in for director Barry Levinson.
Crystal co-wrote the book to “Mr. Saturday Night” with Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. It was based on the 1992 film of the same name, which the trio wrote and which Crystal starred in, produced and directed. Like that film, “Mr. Saturday Night” follows Buddy Young Jr., a comedian who found success in the early days of television, only to have his career flame out due to his ego and a series of bad decisions.
“Bringing ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ to the Broadway stage and experiencing the laughter and tears this show generates has truly been one of the high points of my career,” said Crystal. “It has been a joyous experience to make my musical comedy debut at the age of 74, and I thank everyone involved… The character Buddy Young Jr. has been part of my life for many decades and I’m honored that I was able to share him with the audiences at the Nederlander Theatre.”
The score for “Mr. Saturday Night” features music by Jason Robert Brown (“Parade,” “The Bridges of Madison County”) and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Amanda Green (“Hands on a Hardbody”). Tony Award winner John Rando (“Urinetown”) directed the production.
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