"To Kill a Mockingbird," which closed back in January with plans to reopen in the fall at a new theater, will not return.
The New York Times reports former producer Scott Rudin, who was ousted from the play due to abuse allegations, has scrapped the move and reopening plan.
Rudin reportedly still had the rights to the stage adaptation of the Harper Lee novel, giving him the power to pull the plug on the production's move from the Shubert Theater to the Belasco Theater. In an email reviewed by The Times, he cited lagging ticket sales.
Aaron Sorkin and Bartlett Sher, the play's writer and director, blamed the producer as the sole reason for the production's surprise end in an email to cast and crew.
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“At the last moment, Scott reinserted himself as producer and for reasons which are, frankly, incomprehensible to us both, he stopped the play from reopening," the pair said in the email obtained by The Times.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" first opened in 2018, playing 626 performances and earning a Tony win for actress Celia Keenan-Bolger.
An accomplished producer in film and theater, Rudin resigned from the Broadway League last year as he faced allegations of decades of abusive and violent behavior.
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His decision followed a cover story in The Hollywood Reporter containing accounts, which he has not denied, of throwing objects at employees and engaging in ongoing verbal abuse.
