Broadway Ticket Stories

"Never Give a Saga an Even Break!" Mel Brooks' brand of offbeat, anti-culture humor was all over his movie "Blazing Saddles" in February 1974. He wrote the screenplay with Norman Steinberg and Richard Pryor. Brooks wrote the lyrics and John Morris wrote the music including the theme song of the same name. The film went on to earn the Screen Writers Guild of America (USA) award for Best Comedy Written for the Screen, with three Oscar and two BAFTA nominations. Seen by millions, it set a new standard of humor for generations. Now Brooks is bent on "Blazing" a trail to Broadway.

"Blazing" won't be Brooks' first Broadway musical. That claim to fame belongs to "The Producers," which was adapted from his movie of the same name. To bring "Blazing" to the stage will be a tour-de-force; what works in a movie doesn't always translate to the stage. The film poked fun at bigotry and racism, using bad taste to the point of being screamingly funny. The stage production will need to reflect contemporary language, clichés, and even current events without losing the flavor of the original screenplay or its audience. But given Brooks' success with his latest effort, Young Frankenstein, we can probably trust him to deliver the goods. He even said it on the gold coin pictured in the movie poster for "Saddles": "HI, I'M MEL. TRUST ME."

Along with the storms that moved up the Appalachians to the east coast came a dampening of the climate on Broadway. The box office this past week was $18,736,548, compared to $19,146,988 in the previous reporting period, and both weeks were poorer than the same week a year ago at $20,063,202. However, both Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the American Airlines Theatre and Boeing-Boeing at the Longacre were up 15 percent in capacity. The biggest drop in attendance was Spamalot, by 16 percent, followed by Avenue Q, down almost 11 percent.

Last week was also the week of the 58th annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, which were announced by stage and screen star Sandy Duncan and Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba. South Pacific earned the most awards of the evening, with four wins for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.

After saying “Good Night Alice” in April 2007, a transformed Alice Tully Hall, designed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro in association with FX Fowle, will re-open on Feb. 22, 2009. The opening will be with the Alice Tully Hall Opening Nights Festival, a two-week celebration designed to highlight the artistic range of the venue's primary tenants and showcase the Hall’s prominence as one of New York City’s premier concert venues. The $159 million renovation will make the 1,087 capacity venue a larger pearl in the Lincoln Center complex.

Most Festival performances, including orchestral and chamber music, choral works, recitals, popular song, world music, period and contemporary ensembles and film, will be presented either free or with tickets priced at $25 or less. Overall, the Festival will offer 22 events including three world, one American, and six New York premieres. Most tickets go on sale May 28.

Broadway ticket sales had its ups and downs for the week ending May 4. Overall, sales were down somewhat at $19,146,988 compared to the same week last year at $19,548,481 and weaker than the previous reporting period, April 27, of $20,335,690. Yet, there were some productions showing modest gains, namely A Catered Affair with attendance up 5 percent to generate $431,153, followed by The Lion King up just over 1 percent for $1,229,650 and tailed by Thurgood up a half percent for $202,134 in its second week. Wicked continues its dominance with 100 percent attendance and the highest gross of any production, $1,439,333.

The show with the biggest drop in box office was Cry-Baby, at 30 percent. The show's gross dropped from $281,794 the previous week to $222,068 this past week. Sunday in the Park With George also saw a drop from $434,512 the previous week to $301,337 this past week, a difference of close to 30 percent.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) will launch an arena touring version of its Radio City Christmas Spectacular this year, a first in the show's 76-year history.

The new Spectacular, re-imagined specifically for large-scale venues, will play in 18 cities, starting November 17 in Green Bay, WI, and concluding January 4, 2009 in Houston, TX. Although there are some one nighters, there are many two- to four-day stays and a six-day stand in Baltimore, MD. The arena production was specifically designed to play in large venues scaled to capacities ranging from 7,000 – 12,000. The tour's production is huge and will travel in 30 trucks and 16 buses. Traditional fan-favorites, such as the "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers," will remain in the road show.

A new musical version of “Gone with the Wind” opened late last month at the New London Theatre in England, and it could be bound for Broadway in the future. The musical was written by Margaret Martin, a Los Angeles-based writer with a Ph.D. in community health science, and based on the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Margaret Mitchell.

Few stories have captured the imagination of Americans like “Gone with the Wind.” The 1939 film version of the book starred Vivien Leigh as Scarlett and Clark Gable as Rhett, and smashed box office records at the time and won 10 Academy Awards. Martin presents Mitchell’s heroine of this Civil War epic from a different point of view than the blockbuster film, making a special effort to be truer to Mitchell’s original story. The theatergoer is likely to see this central character as a teenage single mom and admire her strength of character as she plots to save all she loves.

Broadway ticket sales continued to improve for the week ending April 27, as the warmer weather appears to be heating up box office receipts. Total ticket sales (excluding Young Frankenstein, which is still not reporting figures) reached $20,335,690, an improvement over the prior week’s gross of $18,791,333 and only a couple of hundred thousand shy of the same week last season.

In the money were Wicked in the top spot, The Lion King, Jersey Boys, The Little Mermaid and Mamma Mia! More than ten theaters reported being filled at 95 percent capacity or greater, and currently the top ticket price is $351.50 for a premium “Jersey Boys” ticket.

If you were on Broadway Oct. 30, 2003, you may have been fortunate enough to catch the first performance of the Stephen Schwartz-Winnie Holzman musical Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre. When it closes on Broadway next year, it will have had more than 700 performances and 12 previews, and fans who missed seeing it there will have ample opportunities to catch it at theaters in Chicago (Ford Center for the Performing Arts’ Oriental Theatre) and Los Angeles (Pantages Theatre). In addition, the show’s National Tour continues, and beginning in January, 2009, the musical will have an extended run in San Francisco at the Orpheum Theatre. The Pantages production closes that same month on Jan. 9, 2009. There is talk that much of the set will be utilized in the San Francisco effort.

“Wicked” has gone on to be a top performer in ticket sales, breaking box office records around the world. In London’s West End, it took in more than £100,000 (about $200,000) in the first hour tickets were on sale to become the biggest opening there on record. According to published reports more than 1.2 million people saw the London production, while the North American tour has been seen by more than 2 million people.

Broadway ticket sales for the week ending April 20, 2008 held steady with a take of $18,791,333, a slight increase over the previous week’s tally of $18,543,795. While this is good news for in the short term, the amount is still below the same period from last season, however, the figure does not include a number for Young Frankenstein, which continues to not report its box office receipts.

Top-ranking productions in order were: Wicked, The Lion King, Jersey Boys and The Little Mermaid. Virtually tied for fifth place were Mamma Mia! and Mary Poppins. Wicked, The Lion King and Jersey Boys all generated more than $1 million in ticket sales for the week.

Broadway ticket sales, which have been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride as of late, improved for the week ending April 13 compared to the previous reporting period. Last week’s low was $17,944,821 compared to this week’s tally of $18,543,795, not counting the revenue of Young Frankenstein. The Mel Brooks musical is still not reporting box office receipts but they are estimated by Variety to be about $1 million for the week.

The highest grossing productions - no surprises here - were: Wicked, The Lion King, Jersey Boys and The Little Mermaid.

From Los Angeles to New York to London, it’s been a long road to Broadway but Lyle Kessler’s dark comedy “Orphans” will arrive on the Great White Way in January, 2009. Film star Al Pacino has been courted for the role of Harold, a businessman who is kidnapped by two brothers, Treat and Phillip. Parentless, they have raised themselves and been supported by the thievery of Treat. While he dominates his innocent child-like brother, it is their captive, Harold, who eventually takes the helm and steers their lives. According to Broadway.com it is thought that “Orphans” will play at Broadway's Barrymore Theatre.

“Orphans” is Kessler’s best known work, written in 1983. His earlier work includes “The Watering Place” in 1969, “Possessions” in 1978.

The musical version of the Patrick Swayze/Jennifer Grey movie “Dirty Dancing” is finally on its way to the U.S. According to ABC News, it will make its American premiere at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre Sept. 2. Its run there will be followed by a West Coast premiere at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theatre in May of 2009. Adapted for the stage in 2004, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage began its life in Australia and went on to be staggeringly successful in London’s West End, then Europe. It made its North American premiere in Toronto in the fall of 2007.

Tickets for the U.S. shows went on sale this month. The stage show is produced by Jacobsen Entertainment in association with Lionsgate and Magic Hour Productions. Eleanor Bergstein wrote both scripts for movie and stage.

This season has seen its share of revivals of tried-and-true musical gems. Now it appears that "Brigadoon," the Scottish village that appears out of the mist every hundred years, will appear once again to theatergoers on Broadway.

Ostar Productions and producer Liza Lerner announced this week that the revival will open on Broadway in spring, 2009, with cast yet to be determined. It will open in Boston this fall before heading to New York. John Guare, author of “Six Degrees of Separation” and “The House of Blue Leaves” will revise Loewe’s book. Tony award-winner Rob Ashford (“Thoroughly Modern Millie”) will direct and choreograph this new production. This season, he is noted for his choreography for Cry Baby.

Just when things looked so rosy for Broadway ticket sales, figures for the week ending April 6 took a bit of a nosedive. The total sum of box office sales was $17,944,821, considerably lower than the same week last year, as well as lower than the more than $21 million for the previous reporting period. Variety estimates Young Frankenstein brought in $941,000, bringing the total up somewhat.

On the bright side, Wicked, The Lion King, and Jersey Boys all scored well over the million-dollar mark. MacBeth racked up $194,882 over the previous week’s box office. Two other productions still in previews also made good gains as well: Gypsy saw the biggest percentage increase in attendance at 6.8 percent, but a distinct difference in the box office of $116,410 and South Pacific was up by $49,960. The Homecoming was the only other production to see an increase.

As if you haven’t heard enough this past decade about Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, mother of the future king of England, her story may be coming to the Broadway stage. According to the New York Post, Tina Brown, author of the best-selling 2007 book, “The Diana Chronicles”, wants to turn the book into a musical or an opera. She would like to have Stephen Daldry direct according to theater sources. He is staging “Billy Elliot” next season on Broadway. The music? Elton John’s name is in the hat if for no other reason than he performed a tribute to Diana, the song “Candles in the Wind,” at her funeral.

The hit Broadway musical Legally Blonde will begin a national tour on Sept. 23 at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI. The musical is based on the 2001 Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy of the same name, and on Broadway, the show consistently ranked among the top 20 productions on the Great White Way. The show will be on the road for a year, finishing up its run in Costa Mesa, CA in September 2009.

Jerry Mitchell, a Tony-Award winning choreographer who directed the Broadway show, will direct and choreograph the upcoming tour as well. The book is by Heather Hach and the score is by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. The MTV version of musical was a hit when it aired on Oct. 13, 2007, attracting a young audience.

Another up-and-coming week as Broadway box offices continue to thrive. The figures are all good; ticket sales for the week ending March 30 were $21,156,392 (not including figures from Young Frankenstein), almost a cool $2 million more than the same week last season and up from last week’s great box office. Variety estimates “Young Frankenstein” generated about $1.37 million at the box office last week.

And the winners for the week were the usual suspects: Wicked at $1,544,646; The Lion King at $1,250,226; The Little Mermaid at $1,178,998; Jersey Boys at $1,160,319; and Mary Poppins at $1,052,316. Of the seven plays currently on Broadway, the largest grossing is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at $772,458.

Picture this: You are a fan of Mel Brooks, and you really want to see Young Frankenstein playing at the Hilton Theatre. But at $450 for the top ticket, you’ve had second thoughts. That charge, for The Producers preceding it and now for “Young Frankenstein,” may be the highest price ever charged for a single seat at a Broadway show, but now you can get it for $50 to $120 below face value and well in line with other Broadway shows. Where did the $450, $350, and $225 seats go?
What happened?

It seems the producers, Robert F.X. Sillerman and Mel Brooks (who publicly complained about the high-priced tickets) learned too late that the public impression was that all tickets were over-priced. Hence, the fire sale of sorts for tickets. Sillerman, by the way, is reported to own “American Idol” and part of the Elvis Presley estate.

Rent, the seventh-longest running show on Broadway, had its “lease” extended. Instead of closing on June 1 as planned, producers announced this week that overwhelming ticket demand caused them to change their minds and extend the musical until Sept. 7, and ticket holders who bought tickets to the original last performance now have the choice of exchanging their tickets for a later date.

To be exchanged, tickets have to be mailed or taken to the Nederlander Theatre box office no later than May 11. The producers announced, “In consideration of the Rent fans who have purchased tickets for the currently-announced final week, ticket holders wishing to exchange tickets purchased for performances from Monday, May 26, 2008 through Sunday, June 1, 2008 for performances during the extension period are welcome to do so subject to availability.”

Broadway ticket sales for the week ending March 23 continued to show solid signs of life. To paraphrase the old saying, O, Broadway—How do we love thee? Let us count the ways! First, there are no less than six shows, all musicals, in the million-dollar club for the week: in order, Wicked at $1,503,737; The Lion King at $1,323,304; The Little Mermaid at $1,186,297; Mary Poppins at $1,162,183; Jersey Boys at $1,116,266; and Mamma Mia! at $1,001,740

Secondly, no less than fourteen shows had virtually 100 percent attendance!
They are: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Chicago, Grease, Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, Rent, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Spring Awakening, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, The Phantom of the Opera, and of course, Wicked.