NEW YORK, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Anna in the Tropics," closed Sunday after a three-month Broadway run.
Producers said it fell victim of the January-February theater doldrums and unusually cold winter weather.
The play by Nilo Cruz opened in November to very favorable reviews, especially in regard to the performances of popular TV actor Jimmy Smits and actress Daphne Rubin-Vega, from the original cast of "Rent," as Cuban-American lovers in Tampa, Fla., in the late 1920s. It played to full houses during the holiday season, then took a hit at the box office after Jan. 1.
The play had 15 preview performances and 113 performances after its official opening. It lost its entire $1.6 million investment, the producers said.
The Pulitzer Prize jurors for drama had not seen "Anna in the Tropics" on stage but decided to give it the prize just from reading the script. Cruz, 42, was the first Latin American to win the award. He emigrated from Cuba to the United States with his family when he was 10.
