Producers and ticket brokers breathed a sigh of relief this week as Broadway ticket sales were not only better for the week ending Feb. 17 than for the previous week, but sales were even better than for the same week a year ago. There were 47,068 more theatergoers this week than last, and ticket sales were $18,802,116, an increase of $4,235,115 over last week and $1,376,792 better than last season.
Wicked, The Lion King, Jersey Boys, The Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins were right up there in the top five money earners, all musicals. In addition, most of these productions played to audiences that were 90 percent capacity or better, which helped to offset the 11 plays on Broadway, a large number, which traditionally do not always fare as well as musicals.
Four productions are in previews now and are due to open soon: Sunday in the Park with George at Studio 54, opening tomorrow, Feb.21; Passing Strange at the Belasco, opening Feb. 28; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opening at the Broadhurst on March 6; and lastly, In the Heights at the Richard Rodgers, opening March 9.
For those who are Kristin Chenoweth watchers, this multi-talented Tony Award winner will be singing with Marlon Saunders at the 80th Academy Awards to be telecast live from Hollywood this Sunday, Feb. 24. Chenoweth has been getting a lot of exposure in the past couple of years, most recently on TV in “The West Wing” and “Pushing Daisies.”
Coming to Broadway May 4th is the comedy Boeing-Boeing opening to previews April 19 at the Longacre Theatre. First a smash hit in London in the 1960s, it stars Bradley Whitford also from “The West Wing” as Bernard, Tony winner Christine Baranski as Bertha, and Mark Rylance, recently nominated for the Olivier Award, reprising his London role as Robert.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending February 17, 2008
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) |
$317,358 | 4,782 | 0 | 8 | 949 | $66.37 | 63.0% |
| A Chorus Line (Schoenfeld) |
$430,326 | 6,553 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $65.67 | 76.6% |
| August: Osage County (Imperial) |
$571,350 | 7,874 | 0 | 8 | 1,419 | $72.56 | 69.4% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$389,728 | 5,486 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $71.04 | 86.1% |
| Cat…Roof (Broadhurst) |
$678,306 | 8,191 | 8 | 0 | 1,168 | $82.81 | 87.7% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$485,270 | 6,687 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $72.57 | 77.4% |
| Come…Sheba (Biltmore) |
$218,598 | 3,762 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $58.11 | 72.3% |
| Curtains (Hirschfeld) |
$582,440 | 7,959 | 0 | 8 | 1,422 | $73.18 | 70.0% |
| Grease (Atkinson) |
$711,050 | 8,086 | 0 | 8 | 1,072 | $87.94 | 94.3% |
| Hairspray (Neil Simon) |
$750,390 | 10,194 | 0 | 8 | 1,428 | $73.61 | 89.2% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$366,862 | 6,666 | 6 | 0 | 1,344 | $55.03 | 82.7% |
| Is He Dead? (Lyceum) |
$209,777 | 4,162 | 0 | 8 | 922 | $50.40 | 56.4% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,136,337 | 9,439 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $120.39 | 96.6% |
| Legally Blonde (Palace) |
$738,942 | 10,929 | 0 | 8 | 1,691 | $67.61 | 80.8% |
| Mamma Mia! (Cadillac Winter Garden) |
$857,250 | 10,914 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $78.55 | 91.1% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$975,068 | 13,436 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $72.57 | 93.5% |
| November (Barrymore) |
$446,566 | 5,683 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $78.58 | 67.1% |
| Passing Strange (Belasco) |
$101,496 | 2,271 | 7 | 0 | 1,010 | $44.69 | 32.1% |
| Rent (Nederlander) |
$526,013 | 8,562 | 0 | 8 | 1,181 | $61.44 | 90.6% |
| Rock ‘n’ Roll (Jacobs) |
$284,190 | 4,273 | 0 | 8 | 1,074 | $66.51 | 49.7% |
| Spamalot (Shubert) |
$826,303 | 10,437 | 0 | 8 | 1,441 | $79.17 | 90.5% |
| Spring Awakening (O’Neill) |
$607,961 | 8,141 | 0 | 8 | 1,090 | $74.68 | 93.4% |
| Sunday…George (Studio 54) |
$367,988 | 7,120 | 8 | 0 | 1,004 | $51.68 | 88.6% |
| The 39 Steps (American Airlines) |
$262,323 | 5,026 | 0 | 8 | 740 | $52.19 | 84.9% |
| The Color Purple (Broadway) |
$735,311 | 11,652 | 0 | 8 | 1,718 | $63.11 | 84.8% |
| The Farnsworth Invention (Music Box) |
$250,040 | 4,375 | 0 | 8 | 1,005 | $57.15 | 54.4% |
| The Homecoming (Cort) |
$232,798 | 4,287 | 0 | 8 | 1,082 | $54.30 | 49.5% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,168,780 | 12,979 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $90.05 | 98.1% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$996,884 | 10,863 | 0 | 8 | 1,518 | $91.77 | 89.5% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$726,995 | 11,073 | 0 | 8 | 1,607 | $65.65 | 86.1% |
| The Seafarer (Booth) |
$260,751 | 4,364 | 0 | 8 | 788 | $59.75 | 69.2% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,363,888 | 14,211 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $95.97 | 98.2% |
| Xanadu (Hayes) |
$224,777 | 3,194 | 0 | 8 | 596 | $70.37 | 67.0% |