It's now definite: the Broadway musical Triumph of Love will close Jan. 4. The show had posted a provisional closing notice Dec. 16, and was running week-to-week, advertising "last weeks."

Business apparently picked up enough to keep the show going at least through Christmas and Hanukkah, but not enough to get through the slow January-February period.

Despite a cast that includes Betty Buckley, Susan Egan and F. Murray Abraham, the show will have run just two and a half months.

The provisional closing was announced to the cast at 7:20 PM Dec. 16, ironically, in the midst of a live chat from backstage on Playbill On-Line. Read A transcript of the chat in the Celebrity Transcripts section of Playbill On-Line.

Reaction to the announcement was muted, and nearly the entire cast continued with the chat event even after the meeting was over. Triumph of Love opened Oct. 23, 1997. The day is captured in interviews and photographs, as part of Playbill On-Line's "Countdown to Curtain" event.