Originally scheduled to play a limited 20-week engagement through April 1, the production will now end March 11.
A spokesperson for the play told Playbill.com, "The Vertical Hour is expected to recoup its entire capitalization with the week ending March 11. In order to maintain that advantageous financial position for the play's investors, the producers will end the limited engagement three weeks earlier than originally announced."
Sam Mendes directed the play, which began previews Nov. 9 and officially opened Nov. 30. Scott Rudin, Robert Fox, Neal Street Productions, Roger Berlind, Debra Black and The Shubert Organization produced.
In The Vertical Hour, Moore's character and her boyfriend visit the boyfriend's father (Nighy) in the Welsh countryside, where the trio gets into heated discussions about love, death, marriage, parenthood and the Iraq war.
Joining Moore and Nighy in the cast are Andrew Scott (The Royal Court's A Girl in a Car With a Man, "Saving Private Ryan"), Dan Bittner (The House In Town) and Rutina Wesley ("Hitch," "Step"). Moore has earned four Academy Award nominations for her work in "The Hours" (a Hare screenplay), "Boogie Nights," "Far From Heaven" and "The End of the Affair." Other film work includes "The Shipping News," "Evolution," "Hannibal," "An Ideal Husband," "Magnolia," "The Big Lebowski" and the forthcoming "Children of Men" and "Savage Grace." Her stage credits include Vanya on 42nd Street Off-Broadway as well as Surviving Picasso, Serious Money and Ice Cream With Hot Fudge.
An acclaimed British star, Nighy is known for his film work on such movies as "Love Actually," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" and "The Constant Gardener" as well as the HBO film "The Girl in the Café." His roles this year include "Notes on a Scandal" and a voice on the animated feature "Flushed Away." He has trod the boards for Hare previously in A Map of the World and Skylight. Other stage credits include Pravda, King Lear, Arcadia, Blue/Orange, Betrayal, A Kind of Alaska and The Seagull.
The design team for The Vertical Hour includes Scott Pask (scenery), Ann Roth (costumes), Brian MacDevitt (lighting) and Chris Cronin (sound).
The Music Box Theatre is located at 239 West 45th Street. For tickets call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
