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.
Other news this week includes shows in the wings for next season. The Tony award-winning play Equus, a hit in London with Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe, is coming to the Broadhurst. Brigadoon is upcoming and John Leguizamo is slated to star in a revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo.
Tracy Letts has been awarded the 2008 Pulitzer for drama for his play August: Osage County, which opened this past December at the Imperial Theatre and closes April 20. Plans are in place to move “August” to the Music Box Theatre for an open-ended engagement April 29. There’s talk of a Tony nomination too. This is the second time for Letts, who previously won for his play Man From Nebraska.
A new musical, The Story of My Life, is headed for the Broadway stage in 2009 after a successful run on Toronto’s CanStage in the fall of 2006. Auditions will be held in autumn this year. “My Life” will be directed by Richard Maltby Jr. and produced by Chase Mishkin with book by Brian Hill.
OPENINGS:
South Pacific at the Vivian Beaumont, April 3
IN PREVIEWS:
MacBeth at the Lyceum, opening April 8
A Catered Affair at the Walter Kerr, opening April 17
Cry-Baby at the Jacobs, opening April 27
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending April 6, 2008
All data provided by The Broadway League
| Production (Theatre) |
Weekly Gross | Total Atten. | Prev. | Perf. | Total Capacity | Avg. Ticket Price | Atten. % |
| A Catered Affair (Kerr) |
$384,265 | 5,308 | 7 | 0 | 933 | $72.39 | 81.3% |
| A Chorus Line (Schoenfeld) |
$320,644 | 5,229 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $61.32 | 61.1% |
| August: Osage County (Imperial) |
$445,061 | 6,389 | 0 | 8 | 1,419 | $69.66 | 56.3% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$298,019 | 4,900 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $60.82 | 76.9% |
| Cat…Roof (Broadhurst) |
$681,697 | 8,346 | 0 | 8 | 1,168 | $81.68 | 89.3% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$455,184 | 6,989 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $65.13 | 80.9% |
| Cry-Baby (Marquis) |
$237,718 | 7,159 | 8 | 0 | 1,565 | $33.21 | 57.2% |
| Curtains (Hirschfeld) |
$503,852 | 7,292 | 0 | 8 | 1,422 | $69.10 | 64.1% |
| Grease (Atkinson) |
$629,878 | 7,758 | 0 | 8 | 1,072 | $81.19 | 90.5% |
| Gypsy (St. James) |
$771,967 | 11,433 | 0 | 8 | 1,707 | $67.52 | 83.7% |
| Hairspray (Neil Simon) |
$680,782 | 10,816 | 0 | 8 | 1,428 | $62.94 | 94.7% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$430,654 | 6,881 | 0 | 7 | 1,344 | $62.59 | 73.1% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,139,505 | 9,806 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $116.20 | 100.3% |
| Legally Blonde (Palace) |
$658,223 | 9,832 | 0 | 8 | 1,691 | $66.95 | 72.7% |
| Macbeth (Lyceum) |
$371,601 | 5,557 | 8 | 0 | 910 | $66.87 | 76.3% |
| Mamma Mia! (Cadillac Winter Garden) |
$834,761 | 10,857 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $76.89 | 90.6% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$900,231 | 13,077 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $68.84 | 91.0% |
| November (Barrymore) |
$400,243 | 5,609 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $71.36 | 66.3% |
| Passing Strange (Belasco) |
$218,912 | 4,319 | 0 | 8 | 998 | $50.69 | 54.1% |
| Rent (Nederlander) |
$451,048 | 7,190 | 0 | 8 | 1,181 | $62.73 | 76.1% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$578,037 | 7,361 | 3 | 5 | 1,041 | $78.53 | 88.4% |
| Spamalot (Shubert) |
$743,430 | 9,762 | 0 | 8 | 1,441 | $76.16 | 84.7% |
| Spring Awakening (O’Neill) |
$455,604 | 6,212 | 0 | 8 | 1,090 | $73.34 | 71.2% |
| Sunday…George (Studio 54) |
$401,486 | 7,341 | 0 | 8 | 1,004 | $54.69 | 91.4% |
| The Country Girl (Jacobs) |
$203,468 | 2,580 | 3 | 0 | 1,103 | $78.86 | 78.0% |
| The Homecoming (Cort) |
$178,910 | 3,347 | 0 | 8 | 1,082 | $53.45 | 38.7% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,197,762 | 13,116 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $91.32 | 99.1% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$957,360 | 10,758 | 0 | 8 | 1,518 | $88.99 | 88.6% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$747,885 | 11,824 | 0 | 8 | 1,607 | $63.25 | 92.0% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,501,041 | 14,472 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $103.72 | 100.0% |
| Xanadu (Hayes) |
$165,593 | 2,580 | 0 | 8 | 596 | $64.18 | 54.1% |
