The Seafarer plays final performance on Broadway

The Broadway premiere of Conor McPherson's drama The Seafarer will play its final performance at Broadway's Booth Theatre on 30 Mar 2008. When the play closes it will have played 19 previews and 133 regular performances.

The play, which began previews on 30 Oct 2007, was originally scheduled to open on 15 Nov 2007, but due to the strike on Broadway late last year, the opening was moved to 6 Dec 2007.

The musical opened to mostly good reviews: "The play is brilliant." (New York Theatre Guide); "One of the finest ensembles to grace a Broadway stage in years." (New York Times); "has its faults...But the superlative acting balances things out. " (New York Daily News); "The play never lives up to the expectation of its premise. It doesn't, in the end, even surprise." (New York Post); "Well-meshed ensemble acts like blue blazes to ignite the storyline's long fuse." (Star-Ledger); "Imperfect but beguiling new work" (Variety).

As in the London production, Conor McPherson directs his play, which tells the story of Sharky (Morse)who has returned to Dublin, on Christmas Eve, to look after his irascible, ageing brother (Norton) who�s recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan (Hill) and Nicky (Coster) are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. But with the arrival of a stranger (Hinds) from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul�

The cast for The Seafarer features Ciaran Hinds as Mr. Lockhart, Conleth Hill as Ivan Curry, David Morse as James 'Sharky' Harkin, Jim Norton as Richard Harkin and Sean Mahon as Nicky Giblin.

Jim Norton and Conleth Hill are reprising their roles which they first created in the London production, for which Norton received the 2007 Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

Seafarer features the same creative team as the London production: Set and costume design by Rae Smith; lighting by Neil Austin and sound by Matthew Smethurst-Evans.