'Walmartopia' to Close Off-Broadway December 30th

Walmartopia, the new musical currently playing Off-Broadway at The Minetta Lane Theatre, will end its current run at the Minetta Lane Theatre after the evening performance on Sunday, December 30th. Walmartopia began preview performances on August 23rd and officially opened, appropriate enough, on Labor Day, September 3rd. The cast of 11 – portraying blue-vested singing-and-dancing Wal-Mart employees – will have performed a total of 10 previews and 136 regular performances.

Walmartopia, the irreverent and sometimes controversial political satire of big box business and eternal smiley faces is written by Catherine Capellaro (book) and Andrew Rohn (music and lyrics) and is directed by Daniel Goldstein, with choreography by Wendy Seyb and music direction by August Eriksmoen. The cast features Sarah Bolt, Bradley Dean, Stephen DeRosa, John Jellison, DeMond Nason, Andrew Polk, Pearl Sun, Scotty Watson, and Heléne Yorke.

The musical, which was introduced to NYC audiences as a sensation of the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival, tells the funny and timely tale of Vicki Latrell (Cheryl Freeman), a single mom and Wal-Mart employee who speaks out against her company's working conditions and finds herself and her young daughter (Nikki M. James) jettisoned to 2036, into a future where Wal-Mart dominates the entire world. And yes, the musical does feature the 'head' of Wal-Mart's founder, the late Sam Walton.

The original cast recording of Walmartopia will be released on Tuesday, December 4th.