Tickets for the additional dates will go on sale Feb. 6.
"This show has been the greatest professional experience of my life. The audiences have been fantastic and it's great to be part of the Broadway community. I'm thrilled be able to do it 55 more times," said Billy Crystal in a released statement.
700 Sundays is billed as two-act play that "deals with [Crystal's] youth, growing up in the jazz world of Manhattan, his teenage years, and finally adulthood." The title refers to the number of days Crystal got to spend with his busy-with-jobs father who died when young Billy was only 15.
It was also recently announced that the work will be translated into a book form, inspired by the stagework, by Warner Books. The published "700 Sundays" is slated for November 2005.
Tony Award winner Des McAnuff (Big River, The Who's Tommy) directs the solo work which began performances Nov. 12, 2004 and opened Dec. 5 at the Broadhurst Theatre for a run originally slated through March 6. The work, which features additional content by Alan Zweibel, was built upon material used in his live benefit performances of An Evening with Billy Crystal and His Special Guest David Steinberg in 2003.
Crystal, who hosted the Academy Awards for the eighth time in 2004, has recently appeared in "Analyze That," the sequel to "Analyze This." Other films credits include "Running Scared," "City Slickers," "Throw Momma From The Train," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally," "Mr. Saturday Night" and "America's Sweethearts." He also provided the voice of Mike in the animated "Monsters Inc." Crystal also received plaudits for his directorial work on the HBO film "61*" which he also executive produced.
Janice Crystal (the star's wife) and Larry Magid produce the Broadway run of the work which was developed at La Jolla Playhouse, where McAnuff is artistic director.
In the weeks prior to its first performance, reports had the advance sales at over $6 million, though no official confirmation of advance or capitalization was released. The day following its opening, the new show took in close to $600,000 and the following day (Dec. 7, 2004) saw over another $300,000 in sales, confirmed production spokespersons at the time.
700 Sundays performs at the Broadhurst Theatre, located at 235 West 44 Street.
