Broadway Ticket Sales Report Week ending October 23, 2007

By Carol-Ann Rudy

The wildfires currently raging in California may have prompted the cancellation of the Oct. 23 performance in San Diego of the national tour of Jersey Boys, but the show again grabbed second place in the Broadway sales report for the week. Theatergoers with tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show in San Diego were invited to return them at the point of purchase for a refund or exchange for another performance.

The original rags to riches story, the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Pygmalion’s official opening night took place on Oct. 18. It stars Claire Danes as Elisa, Jefferson Mays as Henry Higgins, Boyd Gaines as Col. Pickering, and is directed by David Grindley.

TFL and ATBS for ticketing professionals

Variety, through its own sources, reports Young Frankenstein took in $1.5 million in its first week. Readers will remember that the producers, Sillerman and Brooks, decided to ignore tradition and not report its ticket sales. At this time, it has the top ticket charged on Broadway, $450 for a prime seat.

Continuing their million-dollar streak, Wicked, Jersey Boys, and The Lion King racked them up again this past week ranging between 98% and 100% capacity. Mary Poppins and Mamma Mia! followed closely in the $950,000 plus range.

The week’s ticket sales were $17,382,117, beating out the previous week’s sales of $16,172,839. Last season’s ticket sales to date were $342,295,132; ticket sales to date this season are significantly higher at $365,448,719.

Curtains enjoyed a surge in popularity with a 15% increase in ticket sales this past week. Pygmalion saw an 18% drop in sales over the previous reporting period.

OPENING:
The adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion opened last Thursday, Oct. 18, at the American Airlines Theatre.

A one-man show featuring Chazz Palminteri playing 18 roles, A Bronx Tale officially opens at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Oct. 25

UPCOMING:
The National Theatre of Great Britain’s production of The Seafarer will open for previews at the Booth Theatre on Oct. 30, a change from Oct. 31. It will open officially Nov. 15.

Broadway Gross Reports, October 23, 2007
All data provided by The League of American Theatres and Producers

Production
(Theatre)
Weekly Gross Total Atten. Prev. Perf. Total Capacity Avg. Ticket Price Atten. %
               
A Bronx Tale
(Walter Kerr)
$216,978 4,273 6 0 947 $50.78 75.2%
A Chorus Line
(Schoenfeld)
$506,312 7,330 0 8 1,069 $69.07 85.7%
Avenue Q
(Golden)
$359,211 5,072 0 8 796 $70.82 79.6%
Chicago
(Ambassador)
$525,174 7,387 0 8 1,080 $71.09 85.5%
Curtains
(Hirschfeld)
$819,101 10,030 0 8 1,422 $81.67 88.2%
Cyrano de Bergerac
(Rogers)
$667,608 9,108 8 0 1,347 $73.30 84.5%
Grease
(Atkinson)
$793,671 8,083 0 8 1,072 $98.19 94.3%
Hairspray
(Neil Simon)
$754,814 10,448 0 8 1,428 $72.24 91.5%
Jersey Boys
(August Wilson)
$1,284,622 9,852 0 8 1,222 $130.39 100.8%
Legally Blonde
(Palace)
$830,605 10,757 0 8 1,691 $77.22 79.5%
Les Miserables
(Broadhurst)
$538,686 8,306 0 8 1,122 $64.86 92.5%
Mamma Mia!
(Cadillac Winter Garden)
$954,385 11,609 0 8 1,498 $82.21 96.9%
Mary Poppins
(New Amsterdam)
$982,217 13,081 0 8 1,791 $75.09 91.3%
Mauritius
(Biltmore)
$243,943 4,425 0 8 650 $55.13 85.1%
Pygmalion
(American Airlines)
$228,601 4,429 3 5 740 $51.61 74.8%
Rent
(Nederlander)
$277,630 5,088 0 8 1,181 $54.57 53.9%
Rock ‘n’ Roll
(Jacobs)
$138,108 1,985 2 0 1,074 $69.58 92.4%
Spamalot
(Shubert)
$708,444 9,475 0 8 1,441 $74.77 82.2%
Spring Awakening
(O’Neill)
$744,098 8,623 0 8 1,090 $86.29 98.9%
The 25th…Bee
(Circle in Square)
$207,440 3,772 0 8 684 $54.99 68.9%
The Color Purple
(Broadway)
$862,935 11,838 0 8 1,718 $72.90 86.1%
The Drowsy Chaperone
(Marquis)
$605,832 9,264 0 8 1,611 $65.40 71.9%
The Farnsworth Invention
(Music Box)
$190,545 3,250 7 0 1,005 $58.63 46.2%
The Lion King
(Minskoff)
$1,180,225 13,003 0 8 1,654 $90.77 98.3%
The Phantom of the Opera
(Majestic)
$728,811 11,217 0 8 1,607 $64.97 87.3%
The Ritz
(Studio 54)
$301,058 6,442 0 8 1,006 $46.73 80.0%
Wicked
(Gershwin)
$1,449,978 14,454 0 8 1,809 $100.32 99.9%
Xanadu
(Hayes)
$281,087 3,410 0 8 596 $82.43 71.5%
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