“As soon as Upon a One Extra Time,” a pop musical utilizing the songs of Britney Spears, will shut on Broadway on Sept. 3 after opening to blended evaluations and failing to seek out an viewers.

The musical was a pricey misfire, capitalized for $20 million at a time when many Broadway reveals have been fighting rising prices and diminished attendance after a pandemic shutdown that made an at all times difficult business much more tough.

“As soon as Upon a One Extra Time” is a couple of group of fairy story heroines whose outlook on their acquainted tales is shaken when the e book membership to which they belong encounters a feminist basic, “The Female Mystique” by Betty Friedan.

The musical options a few of Spears’s largest hits, together with “Child One Extra Time,” “Poisonous” and “Circus.” The songs have a number of writers however had been initially carried out and recorded by Spears; the musical’s e book is by Jon Hartmere and it was directed and choreographed by Keone and Mari Madrid.

The musical was first introduced in 2019, with plans for an preliminary manufacturing in Chicago, however that manufacturing was delayed till the next spring after which canceled by the pandemic. Finally, the present began its first run in late 2021 on the Shakespeare Theater Firm in Washington, D.C., the place evaluations had been weak however gross sales had been sturdy.

Spears’s relationship to the present was by no means clear. The present repeatedly described itself as “totally licensed and licensed post-conservatorship by Britney Spears,” and he or she wished the forged and crew effectively on Instagram in June, writing, “I’ve seen the present and it’s so humorous, good and good 🤩 !!!”

However Spears didn’t attend a public efficiency, and her fan base by no means totally mobilized to see the manufacturing. The present’s grosses had been comfortable from the get-go, peaking at $701,425 in the course of the week of its opening, which isn’t almost sufficient to maintain a musical of this scale. Through the week that ended Aug. 13, the present performed to homes that had been solely 47 p.c full, and grossed simply $512,008.

The present started previews on Might 13 and opened on June 22 on the Marquis Theater. On the time of its closing it can have performed 123 performances.

The lead producers are James L. Nederlander and Hunter Arnold; they stated in a press release on Monday that they had been planning a nationwide tour in addition to “a number of worldwide productions.”

The closing announcement comes at a tough time for Spears. Final week her husband, Sam Asghari, filed for divorce simply over a 12 months after they bought married.