Broadway’s ‘High,’ starring Kathleen Turner, will shutter early

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Proving once again how difficult it is for a non-musical play to make it on Broadway these days, even with a recognizable star, producers of the drama ‘High,’ with Kathleen Turner, announced Wednesday that the play will close Sunday, after just eight regular performances.

‘High,’ written by Matthew Lombardo, tells the story of a hard-bitten nun (Turner) who works as an addiction counselor. Her latest charge is a young drug addict and street hustler (Evan Jonigkeit). The production, directed by Rob Ruggiero, opened Tuesday at the Booth Theatre in New York.

The play received mixed reviews from the New York critics, though Turner was singled out by some for praise. The drama saw productions in cities including Philadelphia and St. Louis before transferring to Broadway.

This is the second Broadway flop in a row for Lombardo. His comedy ‘Looped,’ starring Valerie Harper as an alcoholic Tallulah Bankhead, opened last season at the Lyceum Theatre in New York. The play was staged at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2008, then transferred to Broadway, where it ran for only 33 regular performances.

Turner is scheduled to appear at the Geffen Playhouse next season in a production of the one-woman show ‘Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins.’

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Photo (top): Kathleen Turner in ‘High’ on Broadway. Credit: Joan Marcus

Photo (bottom): Valerie Harper and Chad Allen in ‘Looped’ at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2008. Credit: Los Angeles Times