With six new plays in preview, theaters reported a definite bump in revenues: $16,516,116 this past week compared to a low of $15,410,133 the previous week. The same week last year saw $17.1 million. There is close to a 3 percent lag when comparing this season, $322,809,234 so far, with last season at $331,649,919.

The high-steppers this week were Wicked at the Gershwin, Billy Elliot at the Imperial, the new production A Steady Rain at the Schoenfeld with headliners Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, Jersey Boys at the August Wilson, The Lion King at the Minskoff, and West Side Story at the Palace. The Top Ticket this week was $375 for “A Steady Rain”.

The six new productions in preview were:

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• “A Steady Rain”, Opening Night scheduled for September 29
• Superior Donuts at the Music Box, Opening Night scheduled for October 1
• Hamlet at the Broadhurst, Opening Night scheduled for October 6
• The Royal Family at the Friedman, Opening Night scheduled for October 8
• Bye Bye Birdie at the Henry Miller, Opening Night scheduled for October 15
• After Miss Julie at the American Airlines, Opening Night scheduled for October 22

“After Miss Julie” reported the lowest box office of the 24 shows, which could be due the fact that it has only had five previews with a small capacity of 740 seats. It still enjoyed almost a 95 percent full house. Five other productions enjoyed 95 percent or better attendance.

Opening to previews this week on September 23 is a new rock musical, Memphis, at the Shubert Theatre. Opening Night is scheduled for October 19. Christopher Ashley directs, with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and score and lyrics by David Bryan of Bon Jovi fame.

Theater-goers will have a holiday treat to look forward to: Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury in A Little Night Music. The musical will begin previews at the Walter Kerr on November 24 with Opening Night scheduled for December 13. The musical was last seen on Broadway in its 1973 run.

Please note: Beginning with the week ending May 31, 2009, “Gross” represents Gross Gross and “Attendance” represents Total Attendance. For every week prior to May 31, these numbers represent Net Gross and Paid Attendance respectively. The Broadway League took this into account when comparing this season’s figures to the previous season’s and made adjustments accordingly.

Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending September 20, 2009
All data provided by The Broadway League

Broadway Gross Ticket Sales
Week Ending September 20, 2009

Production
(Theatre)
Weekly Gross Total Atten. Prev. Perf. Total Capacity Avg. Ticket Price Atten. %
A Steady Rain
(Schoenfeld)
$1,167,954 8,570 8 0 1,071 $136.28 100.0%
After Miss Julie
(American Airlines)
$98,091 3,512 5 0 740 $27.93 94.9%
Billy Elliot
(Imperial)
$1,342,233 11,370 0 8 1,421 $118.05 100.0%
Burn the Floor
(Longacre)
$346,946 5,545 0 8 1,044 $62.57 66.4%
Bye Bye Birdie
(Henry Miller)
$589,285 7,982 8 0 1,026 $73.83 97.2%
Chicago
(Ambassador)
$535,545 7,129 0 8 1,080 $75.12 82.5%
God of Carnage
(Jacobs)
$973,607 8,784 0 8 1,078 $110.84 101.9%
Hair
(Hirschfeld)
$781,734 9,192 0 8 1,412 $85.05 81.4%
Hamlet
(Broadhurst)
$575,881 5,655 7 0 1,174 $101.84 68.8%
In the Heights
(Rodgers)
$577,946 7,289 0 8 1,365 $79.29 66.7%
Jersey Boys
(August Wilson)
$1,126,009 9,896 0 8 1,222 $113.78 101.2%
Mamma Mia!
(Winter Garden)
$958,245 11,231 0 8 1,498 $85.32 93.7%
Mary Poppins
(New Amsterdam)
$528,334 7,621 0 8 1,797 $69.33 53.0%
Next to Normal
(Booth)
$360,964 5,495 0 8 772 $65.69 89.0%
Rock of Ages
(Atkinson)
$566,425 7,100 0 8 997 $79.78 89.0%
Shrek
(Broadway)
$451,274 7,409 0 8 1,733 $60.91 53.4%
South Pacific
(Beaumont)
$646,966 6,695 0 8 1,041 $96.63 80.4%
Superior Donuts
(Music Box)
$187,238 4,961 6 0 1,006 $37.74 82.2%
The 39 Steps
(Hayes)
$184,010 2,860 0 8 589 $64.34 60.7%
The Lion King
(Minskoff)
$1,123,205 11,369 0 8 1,654 $98.80 85.9%
The Phantom of the Opera
(Majestic)
$789,708 10,979 0 8 1,615 $71.93 85.0%
The Royal Family
(Biltmore)
$148,558 3,633 8 0 650 $40.89 69.9%
West Side Story
(Palace)
$1,014,276 10,676 0 8 1,697 $95.01 78.6%
Wicked
(Gershwin)
$1,441,683 14,207 0 8 1,809 $101.48 98.2%