THE ALEC BALDWIN PLAY THAT DROVE SHIA LABEOUF NUTS IS CLOSING EARLY

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Back in March, we saw the most jarring episode of plagiarism since William Shakespeare stole King Lear from the Earl of Oxford: Shia LaBeouf "adopted" a 2009 Esquire essay by Tom Chiarella topublicly shame his would-be costar Alec Baldwin, just after opting to drop out of the their imminent Broadway production Orphans. Independent from the project entirely, LaBeouf still managed to voice his antagonism for the 30 Rock star via a series of tweets and emails. All the while, we can only imagine that Baldwin and company had waited with bated breath for the Transformers headliner to grow bored with the play, and set his attention elsewhere. Unfortunately, he's not the only one to do so: less than a month after its stage debut and only a week after garnering a Tony nomination, Orphans is reportedly making plans to call it quits early.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Daniel Sullivan's production, which also stars Ben Foster and Tom Sturridge, will be taking its bow on May 19, almost six weeks prior to its previously scheduled date of June 30. The play met mixed reviews, and reportedly only managed a 70% capacity during the week of Apr. 23, grossing below $500,000. Considering the hefty paycheck we can imagine Mr. Baldwin is warranting, this is hardly enough to keep the show running.

But back when the play first opened, Baldwin had high hopes. Here, the actor and his costars Foster and Sturridge tell The New York Times about their exciement over their stage endeavor:

But alas, the play meets a sour, early end. If only LaBeouf maintained those email chains, maybe people would still be interested in the darn thing.