Tupac Shakur "Holler If Ya Hear Me" Musical To End Early

by SOREN BAKER

The production will close at what Variety says "amounts to a total loss."

The Broadway musical Holler If Ya Hear Me, which was inspired by the work of late rapper Tupac Shakur, will end its run early, on July 20, after poor box office performance, according to Variety.

The attendance for the show at Broadway’s Palace Theater was 45 percent of overall seating capacity last week, says the story, which also said that reviews of the production have been mixed.

Variety says that Holler If Ya Hear Me was an $8 million musical and that the closing of the production will result in “what amounts to a total loss.”

Holler If Ya Hear Me is inspired by Tupac’s lyrics, but serves as a non-biographical narrative about two friends living in the inner-city in the Midwest. The production was written by playwright Todd Kreidler and features support from the late rapper’s mother, Afeni Shakur, who is one of the musical’s producers.

The play stars slam poet, musician and actor Saul Williams. The production is directed by Kenny Leon, who also directed Denzel Washington in the current Broadway iteration of A Raisin in the Sun.