‘Elephant Man’ to close a day early so Bradley Cooper can attend Oscars

“The Elephant Man” on Broadway will close one day earlier than previously announced so that star Bradley Cooper can attend the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. Cooper has received two Oscar nominations for his work on “American Sniper,” which opened in limited release on Christmas and expanded nationwide on Friday.

A spokesman for “The Elephant Man” confirmed that the revival Broadway production will end its run at the Booth Theatre in New York on Feb. 21. Producers had previously scheduled the run to end Feb. 22.

The Oscars ceremony is set to take place Feb. 22 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Cooper is nominated for lead actor as well as for best picture, since he is one of “American Sniper’s” producers.

In addition, “The Elephant Man” has canceled performances on Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. so that Cooper can attend the Directors Guild of America Awards ceremony in L.A., where he will present nominated “American Sniper” director Clint Eastwood.

“The Elephant Man” has been a box-office smash in New York, recouping its $3.1-million capitalization after a little more than six weeks of performances. The play, by Bernard Pomerance, stars Cooper as John Merrick, an Englishman born with extensive physical deformities.

The cast also includes Alessandro Nivola as the doctor who takes Merrick under his wing and Patricia Clarkson as an actress who befriends Merrick.

Cooper recently said that the production will travel to London this year but no official announcement has been made.

“American Sniper” grossed a record-breaking $107.2 million over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The movie is based on the bestselling memoirs of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, who is played by Cooper.

The movie received six Oscar nominations, including best picture, lead actor and adapted screenplay.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT