The little-show-that-could couldn’t make it on Broadway after all. The producers of the original play “Next Fall” said on June 22, 2010 that the production would close at the Helen Hayes Theater on July 4, 2010, after 26 previews and 132 regular performances.

“Next Fall” cost about $2 million to mount, and one of its lead producers, Richard Willis, said that the show will close at a total loss to its producers and investors.

A comedy-drama by Geoffrey Nauffts about a gay couple tested by religious differences and interfering family and friends, “Next Fall” was something of a test case for new plays without well-known cast members trying to make a go of it on Broadway. “Next Fall” received strong reviews from several theater critics, and enjoyed publicity when Elton John and David Furnish signed on as producer-presenters.

But in the end, the audience did not build. “Next Fall” was regularly one of the lowest-earning shows on Broadway, barely covering its weekly running costs. For its eight performances last week, the play grossed $154,207 — just 30 percent of the maximum that it could have earned — and filled only 60 percent of the seats in the Helen Hayes, a 597-seat theater that is Broadway’s smallest.

The producers had hoped for recognition at the June 13, 2010 Tony Awards, but “Next Fall” lost out to another new play, “Red,” for the Tonys for best play and best director of the play, the two categories in which it drew nominations.

Asked why “Next Fall” was closing, Mr. Willis said, “We looked at the numbers and tried to figure out all of our options to keep running, and we realized that we didn’t have any options.” He said he had no solid theory about why the show failed to build an audience, except perhaps the competition from other plays and musicals this spring; many productions earned far more than “Next Fall,” especially those with stars in the cast. Mr. Willis said he stood by the decision to retain the cast of mostly little-known actors — some of them theater veterans — when he and his partners transferred the show after its well-attended Off Broadway run during the summer of 2009.

Mr. Willis added that he planned to talk to Elton and David about mounting a production of “Next Fall” in London, and also planned to look at other theater markets in the United States for possible productions. No plans are set, though.

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