'Baby It's You!' to close

Broadway tuner "Baby It's You!" will shutter Sept. 4 after about five months on the boards. Produced by a team headed by Warner Bros. Theater Ventures and American Pop Anthology, "Baby It's You!" -- following the behind-the-scenes story of Florence Greenberg, who discovered '60s girl group the Shirelles and steered the band to success -- hoped to attract the same baby-boomer demo that has fueled B.O. at Rialto hit "Jersey Boys," another bio-musical centered around golden oldies. "Baby It's You!," however, never quite caught on with auds or critics. Weekly sales have cracked the $500,000 mark only once, and over the last several weeks attendance has hovered between 70% and 80% of capacity. Last week the tuner rang in about $375,000 in sales. Earlier this summer the musical initiated Friday matinee performances in lieu of Wednesday evening shows in an effort to maximize biz from tristate visitors and matinee crowds. "Baby" was the second Broadway outing for WB Theater Ventures last season. Holiday offering "Elf" logged powerhouse sales during the weeks approaching the Christmas holidays, and the tuner is expected to return this season for another limited engagement. "Baby It's You!" was conceived by Floyd Mutrux, also behind rock 'n' roll backstager "Million Dollar Quartet." Mutrux co-helmed by Sheldon Epps and co-wrote the book with Colin Escott. Beth Leavel ("The Drowsy Chaperone"), who toplines as Florence, scored a Tony nom for her perf. Musical will close just prior to Labor Day, exiting in advance of the back-to-school slump that traditionally hits the Main Stem in September. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com