“Hillary and Clinton,” a Broadway play that explores the relationship of a political power couple, will close on Sunday, four weeks earlier than scheduled.
The play, by Lucas Hnath, stars Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow and is directed by Joe Mantello. It opened in April; at the time of its closing it will have played 37 previews and 77 regular performances at the John Golden Theater.
Set a hotel room in New Hampshire in 2008, the play imagines an interaction between Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton — not the real ones, but characters with the same names in an alternate universe — talking about her struggling campaign for president that year.
The play, with Scott Rudin as a lead producer, cost $4.2 million to capitalize; that money has not been recouped. It is the third play that Mr. Rudin has shuttered in rapid succession this spring, following the early closings of a “King Lear” revival and the new play “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.”
None were financial successes, though another of Mr. Rudin’s productions, Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is a major hit.
“Hillary and Clinton” was nominated for only one Tony Award, for Ms. Metcalf’s performance, and did not win. It was struggling at the box office, grossing $291,098, 36 percent of its potential, during the week that ended June 9, according to the Broadway League.
The play was first staged at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater in 2016 and had several other regional productions before coming to Broadway.