Broadway-style Gospel musical 'His Story' ends Texas run early
Show was unable to 'attract sufficient paying audiences,' spokesperson says
A high-profile Broadway-style musical based on the life of Jesus has closed after just a one-month run in Texas following a lack of interest.
“His Story: The Musical,” which was scheduled to run through at least September, announced it was “now closed” following a final performance on June 18 at Grandscape in The Colony, about 20 miles north of Dallas.
The June 20 post read: “His Story The Musical is now closed in Dallas, TX. Thank you to everyone who has joined us in The Broadway Tent and supported us in any way. We appreciate each and every one of you!”
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Ticket holders for any future performances were instructed to request a refund at their point of purchase, while any tickets purchased through Ticketmaster would be refunded automatically.
A spokesperson for “His Story” told The Christian Post that despite a production that “exceeded creative expectations,” the show was “not able to attract sufficient paying audiences to be self-sustaining, which is the reality of live theater.”
“The audiences that came, came again and again loved [the show] and appreciated the time and talent of everyone on the production team to make this unprecedented vision a spectacular reality that exceeded creative expectations,” said spokesman A. Larry Ross.
Created by 18-year-old Anna Miriam Brown, “His Story” was described as “‘The Chosen’ meets ‘Hamilton,’” and told the tale of the Messiah as a “common man from an obscure family” type who arrives in the big city and proceeds to turn the world upside down.
Performing miracles and speaking words of great wisdom, Jesus defies expectations by choosing unlikely friends and hanging out in the wrong part of town, making Him adored by the people but disdained by the establishment.
The show had some star power attached as well: it was backed by “Duck Dynasty” stars Willie and Korie Robertson as well as Tony Award-nominated creators Jeff Calhoun and Bruce Lazarus.
At a media preview in April, both the cast and producers of “His Story” were visibly excited about the show’s opening — and its future prospects.
With a cast composed of young actors primarily from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex — “our Jesus is from Plano,” as one of the crew put it — Lazarus said the production was designed to be homegrown in order to help the fast-growing metroplex continue on its path toward becoming a center for theater and the arts.
“This is not a show that’s here for a month or six months, we’re planning to be here for a very long time,” he added.
A report last month from Jewish news outlet Forward identified the musical’s Tony-nominated director, Jeff Calhoun, as a “gay, liberal New Yorker” who approached the story primarily as theater, not Christian theology.
“We all agreed from the outset that first and foremost, we’re creating a piece of theater,” Calhoun was quoted as saying. “Whether someone takes it literally or metaphorically doesn’t matter to me.”
But despite being home to more than two dozen of America’s largest churches and with nearly 2 million Christians, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex didn’t draw the crowds that producers hoped it would.
At the April preview, Robertson recalled being first introduced to the project.
“I think the story of how this came together is really just wild,” said Robertson. “When I heard the guy’s name was Lazarus, that got me interested.
“The story of Jesus of Nazareth ... started with pretty much the size group that you’re seeing here, with no money, with no fame, with no internet, with no phone," he said. "Two thousand years later, we’re still talking about it halfway across the globe from where it happened."
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
