Aaron Sorkin‘s stage adaptation of Kill a mockingbird will not return to Broadway despite news that it would return in June after a winter “break” in January.
According to Showbiz 411‘s Scott Friedmanwho first reported the news, the Broadway show’s failure to restart after a tough Omicron winter run is the result of a decision by the former producer Scott Rudin, who still retains the rights to the show. According to an anonymous source who spoke to Friedman, Rudin “never left” despite “long negotiations to transfer production to other producers.”
In emails obtained by The New York Times of Sorkin and the play’s director Bartlett Sher, the cast and crew were notified of the show’s final closing on Thursday, with both pointing to Rudin as the source of the decision.
“At the last minute, Scott re-recorded himself as a producer and for reasons that, frankly, are incomprehensible to both of us, he stopped the play from reopening,” the email read.
Sher and Sorkin both went on to say they were “heartbroken” and mourned “the loss of all the jobs — on stage, backstage, and front of house — that were just gone.”
According to Sorkin and Sher, Rudin said his decision to pull the plug on the show “has to do with my lack of confidence in the climate for plays next winter” and that he “doesn’t believe a reinstatement of mockingbird competition in the market.”
“It’s too risky and the downside is too big,” Rudin is said to have written. ‘I’m sorry you’re disappointed. It’s the right decision for the longevity of the show.”
Kill a mockingbird was one of the shows to reopen on Broadway after the 18-month pandemic shutdown. After pulling back the curtains in October 2021 when star Jeff Daniels returned to play Atticus Finch, Greg Kinnear later stepped in the role before the winter shutdown on January 16, which was thought to be temporary.
It was also one of the Broadway shows that Rudin reportedly stepped back from The Hollywood Reporter published allegations of abuse made by former Rudin staffers.
The show originally opened on Broadway in 2018 and became an instant hit. This year it launched a US tour production and opened in the West End. Both the touring and London shows are unaffected, according to the Time.
The Hollywood Reporter has contacted production for comment.