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.
Of the eight plays on the Great White Way, MacBeth at the Lyceum is packing the house, due to major stage and screen star, Patrick Stewart, and the production’s critical acclaim. Glory Days at the Circle in the Square Theatre, with only eight previews under its belt, ranked lowest on Broadway in box office sales and attendance, but its average paid admission is a bargain at $26.54.
“Days” was written by two twentysomethings, composer-lyricist Nick Blaemire and librettist James Gardiner. It comes upon the heels of Disney’s High School Musical, telling the story of four high school buddies who reunite a year after graduation only to find they have taken different life paths a year later. Eric Schaeffer, who directed the show at its January world premiere at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, directed the Broadway production as well.
Thurgood, the new production at the Booth, is based on the life of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The show is directed by Leonard Foglia and written by George Stevens Jr. A one-man show, it promises to be a tour-de-force for the Tony, Drama Desk, and Theatre World award-winning stage and screen star Laurence Fishburne. Marshall, who grew up on the streets of Baltimore, went on to become a beacon of the Civil Rights movement, and a hero of our time.
TopGirls at the Biltmore is the story of the Top Girls Employment Agency, set in London in the ‘80s. James MacDonald directs this story of modern women. The cast is sprinkled with well-known names: Mary Beth Hurt as Louise, Mary Catherine Garrison playing three roles, Drama Desk Award-winning Martha Plimpton playing two roles, Academy Award-winning Marisa Tomei playing three roles, Jennifer Ikeda in two roles and Ana Reeder in two as well.
OPENINGS:
Cry-Baby opened at the Marquis April 24
Country Girl opened at the Jacobs on April 27
IN PREVIEWS:
“Glory Days”, opening May 6
“Thurgood” at the Booth Theatre, opening April 30
Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the American Airlines Theatre, opening May 1
Boeing-Boeing at the Longacre Theater, opening May 4
Top Girls at the Biltmore, opening May 7
Get more rankings! Read this week’s top events article.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales
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| Production (Theatre) |
Weekly Gross | Total Atten. | Prev. | Perf. | Total Capacity | Avg. Ticket Price | Atten. % |
| A Catered Affair (Kerr) |
$424,552 | 5,811 | 0 | 8 | 933 | $73.06 | 77.9% |
| A Chorus Line (Schoenfeld) |
$482,117 | 7,134 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $67.58 | 83.4% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$293,999 | 4,758 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $61.79 | 74.7% |
| Boeing-Boeing (Longacre) |
$284,646 | 5,989 | 8 | 0 | 1,077 | $47.53 | 69.5% |
| Cat…Roof (Broadhurst) |
$548,598 | 7,842 | 0 | 8 | 1,168 | $69.96 | 83.9% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$516,239 | 7,526 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $68.59 | 87.1% |
| Cry-Baby (Marquis) |
$281,794 | 10,618 | 4 | 4 | 1,565 | $26.54 | 84.8% |
| Curtains (Hirschfeld) |
$579,308 | 8,186 | 0 | 8 | 1,422 | $70.77 | 72.0% |
| Glory Days (Circle in Square) |
$51,094 | 2,298 | 8 | 0 | 670 | $22.23 | 42.9% |
| Grease (Atkinson) |
$680,712 | 8,394 | 0 | 8 | 1,072 | $81.10 | 97.9% |
| Gypsy (St. James) |
$890,671 | 11,259 | 0 | 8 | 1,707 | $79.11 | 82.4% |
| Hairspray (Neil Simon) |
$757,542 | 11,238 | 0 | 8 | 1,428 | $67.41 | 98.4% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$585,934 | 8,307 | 0 | 8 | 1,344 | $70.53 | 77.3% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,155,960 | 9,852 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $117.33 | 100.8% |
| Legally Blonde (Palace) |
$719,455 | 10,852 | 0 | 8 | 1,691 | $66.30 | 80.2% |
| Les Liaisons Dangereuses (American Airlines) |
$244,170 | 5,070 | 8 | 0 | 740 | $48.16 | 85.6% |
| Macbeth (Lyceum) |
$492,616 | 6,235 | 0 | 7 | 910 | $79.01 | 97.9% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$956,420 | 11,931 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $80.16 | 99.6% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$914,366 | 13,349 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $68.50 | 92.9% |
| November (Barrymore) |
$446,286 | 6,205 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $71.92 | 73.3% |
| Passing Strange (Belasco) |
$259,911 | 4,903 | 0 | 8 | 998 | $53.01 | 61.4% |
| Rent (Nederlander) |
$531,580 | 8,334 | 0 | 8 | 1,181 | $63.78 | 88.2% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$738,433 | 8,213 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $89.91 | 98.6% |
| Spamalot (Shubert) |
$782,129 | 10,347 | 0 | 8 | 1,441 | $75.59 | 89.8% |
| Spring Awakening (O’Neill) |
$484,935 | 6,770 | 0 | 8 | 1,090 | $71.63 | 77.6% |
| Sunday…George (Studio 54) |
$434,512 | 7,616 | 0 | 8 | 1,004 | $57.05 | 94.8% |
| The Country Girl (Jacobs) |
$462,299 | 6,052 | 7 | 1 | 1,103 | $76.39 | 68.6% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,297,216 | 12,951 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $100.16 | 97.9% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$1,115,988 | 12,002 | 0 | 8 | 1,518 | $92.98 | 98.8% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$837,131 | 12,843 | 0 | 8 | 1,607 | $65.18 | 99.9% |
| Thurgood (Booth) |
$208,855 | 4,128 | 8 | 0 | 780 | $50.59 | 66.2% |
| Top Girls (Biltmore) |
$181,049 | 3,627 | 8 | 0 | 650 | $49.92 | 69.8% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,468,682 | 14,472 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $101.48 | 100.0% |
| Xanadu (Hayes) |
$226,491 | 3,468 | 0 | 8 | 596 | $65.31 | 72.7% |
All data provided by The Broadway League
