(PHOTO: Deen van Meer)

By Karen Stahl

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, featuring Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon, set its final performance for Sunday, July 28, 2019.

The show opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on May 30, 2019, as the first Broadway production of the 2019-20 season. At the time of closing, the production will have played 26 preview performances and 70 regular performances.

“We are all very proud of the word that Audra, Michael, Arin (Arbus), Terrence, Claire (Warden) and the rest of the company have done to bring this new Broadway production to life,” producers Hunter Arnold, Debbie Bisno and Tom Kirdahy said in a joint statement Monday.

The production marks the Broadway debut of director Arin Arbus. It is also the first production on Broadway to hire an intimacy director, Claire Warden.

Playwright Terrence McNally received the 2019 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre this year.

Producers Arnold, Bisno and Kirdahy said in the joint statement that despite an untimely closing, there is still much to celebrate about the production.

“What Audra and Michael do on stage eight shows a week in this timely and relevant story of human connection is nothing short of remarkable,” the statement said. “Their performances are certainly worthy of the extraordinary enthusiasm with which audiences greet them every night.”