The Pirate Queen to close on Broadway on 17 Jun 2007

Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg�s The Pirate Queen will play its final performance on Broadway at the Hilton Theatre on 17 Jun 2007, after only 85 performances and 32 previews. The musical had originally been booking through to 2 Sep 2007.

The production opened in New York on 5 Apr 2007, following previews from 6 Mar 2007. The musical had played a previous limited engagement at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre from 3 Oct 2006 through to 26 Nov 2006 (64 performances). The Pirate Queen will have played a total of 181 performances in North America.

The musical opened to negative notices from the Broadway critics: "The operating theory behind 'The Pirate Queen' would appear to be taken from an appropriately ocean-themed bit of zoology: if, like a shark, it never stops moving, then it will stay alive. The optimism is misplaced." (New York Times); "Misses by a nautical mile"; (New York Sun); "It's dull...For all its inflamed passions, it never ignites." (Variety) and "It is music from the team of meat grinder and cookie cutter, vaguely operatic and only barely operational." (Bloomberg).

The musical was overlooked by the Tony Award nominations committee - who failed to nominate the producion in any of it's categaories.

Producers Moya Doherty and John McColgan said, "We are proud of The Pirate Queen and the talented cast and creative team that has brought this epic musical to Broadway. It is a joy working with Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg who have created a timeless, classic score for a great theatre piece. We are also pleased to report that there is international interest in The Pirate Queen productions. Plans for a European English-language production are underway and will be announced in the near future."

Masterworks Broadway will release the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg�s epic new musical The Pirate Queen nationwide on 3 Jul 2007. That same day, Hal Leonard will release The Pirate Queensongbook.

The Pirate Queen is based on the real-life story of the legendary Irish pirate chieftain, Grace O�Malley, who led an extraordinary life as a pirate, chieftain, lover and mother in 16th Century Ireland.

The new musical has book by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg�s, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg�s and lyrics by Alain Boublil and John Dempsey.

The Pirate Queen is directed by Frank Galati and choreographed by Mark Dendy.

The cast of 39 is led by Stephanie J. Block (Grace O�Malley), Hadley Fraser (Tiernan), Linda Balgord (Queen Elizabeth I), Marcus Chait (Donal), Jeff McCarthy (Dubhdara) and William Youmans (Bingham).

The company also includes Nick Adams, Richard Todd Adams, Caitlin Allen, Sean Beglan, Timothy W. Bish, Jerad Bortz, Troy Edward Bowles, Grady McLeod Bowman, Rachel Bress, Don Brewer, Kimilee Bryant, Alexis Ann Carra, �ine U� Cheallaigh, Noelle Curran, Bobbie-Ann Dunn, Brooke Elliott, Christopher Garbrecht, Eric Hatch, Cristin J. Hubbard, David Koch, Timothy Kochka, Jamie LaVerdiere, Joseph Mahowald, Tokiko Masuda, Padraic Moyles, Brian O�Brien, Kyle James O�Connor, Michael James Scott, Greg Stone, Katie E. Tomlinson, Daniel Torres, Jennifer Waiser and Briana Yacavone.

Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Sch�nberg�s The Pirate Queen has set design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting by Kenneth Posner and sound by Jonathan Deans.