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CANCELLED: A Musical inspired by late rapper Tupac (pictured) has been cancelled because audiences were turned off by gang violence, says star of show

THE STAR of a Tupac Shakur inspired musical said the play’s early closure was due to the lack of connection with the subject matter of gun violence in black communities.

In an interview with RollingStone Music, Holler If Ya Hear Me star Saul Williams said he sensed from the start that the show was doomed.

Earlier this month the New York Times reported the production grossed $144,773 during the week of July 6, playing to just 16 percent of The Palace Theatre’s maximum capacity.

Williams believes that negative reviews ultimately impacted the show from reaching its full potential.

He said: “One of our producers came in really angry because he had spoken to one of the TKTS people [who man Broadway ticket-selling booths] — not saying she was a producer — and asked them, ‘What about Holler? Should I see that?’ And the response of the person who is supposed to guide tourists to plays was like, ‘It's a bit of a downer. It's not necessarily as fun as’ whatever other play they mentioned.”

He added: “Then she approached another one and that person was like, ‘Oh, it got really bad reviews.’ We started a street team at the last minute to counter those TKTS people who are really supposed to be promoting everything on Broadway. I also cannot go without saying that there was something deeply embedded in a lot of the reviews that went deeper than just a dislike of the play.”

When he was asked to explain the statement, he responded: “The idea of having a play that centres around, how do you stop the cycles of gun violence in our community? It's weird to hear someone feel like the story is generic when it's the front page of every paper to date.

“And when you look at the reviews and compare them to everything from Do the Right Thing to Menace II Society, it's always the same
review.”

He added: “There's actually a generic response when I don't think critics realize they're playing into the hands of something that runs deeper than how this made you feel. I am speaking to that American race psyche; that thing that Harry Belafonte said to me after he saw the play, which is, "You took an afrocentric-themed play and placed it on a eurocentric stage. The problems you'll face are larger than you think."