All theater folks like a good scare on Halloween, but this is too much: The producers of Brighton Beach Memoirs, which I reviewed favorably here, have posted a provisional closing notice for tomorrow, a week after they opened to generally strong notices. It goes without saying that the companion production to Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound–which was to have opened in six weeks and run in repertory with the first–will not happen. That’s especially bad news for those of us looking forward to the Broadway debut of Josh Grisetti (far left), who was to star in Broadway Bound. Big questions remain: How is it possible that the first Broadway revival of a Neil Simon hit play, helmed by a highly respected director (David Cromer), is closing so soon? Clearly, the audiences aren’t coming. No celebrity names in the cast, and the dependable crowds who will go see any Simon on Broadway have thinned or simply won’t take the risk. Let’s be honest: This isn’t the 1960s. Simon hasn’t been the comedy king of the Great White Way for decades. But still, it’s a sad state when a production as good as this one can’t find an audience. We certainly hope this doesn’t affect Cromer’s plans to bring his acclaimed production of Picnic to Broadway next year. And let’s hope that any remaining scares this weekend come in the form of a kid in a mask wanting candy.

UPDATE: Garrett Eisler, blogger and TONY contributor, provides thoughts and analysis at Playgoer. Short version: By trying to mount a dual production for a commerical run without a nonprofit cushion, producer Manny Azenburg bit off more than a New York audience could chew.