Broadway’s recent rollercoaster ride continues, as plays and musicals alike posted rebounds for the week ending September 18. Overall, ticket sales rose by $1.7 million over the September 11 memorial frame, and the week ended with an almost-even $16 million gross.
The Great White Way’s strong recovery comes on the heels of major sales dips brought on by a wave of Hurricane Irene-related cancellations and the traditional post-Labor Day ticket sale slump. The current roster of 20 shows brought in audiences of 178,675, with attendance rates increasing (or holding steady) across the board.
Frank Langella’s star vehicle “Man and Boy” had the greatest gains as it completed its second week of previews. Ticket sales rose 116 percent, bringing the drama’s weekly total to $213,069 and more than 4,000 in attendance. The limited engagement, housed at American Airlines Theatre, is slated to open October 9 and close November 27.
Among those productions that have already opened, strong improvements were made by musicals “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” ($734,089) and “Sister Act” ($621,509), each increasing their sales by 34 percent over the previous frame. Long-running tuner “Billy Elliot” also saw an uptick in sales (about 28 percent) to close the week at $628,149.
“Wicked” and “The Lion King” finished the week atop the usual Broadway powerhouses with respective sales of roughly $1.48 million and $1.41 million. “The Book of Mormon” held steady with a $1.29 million draw nearly equal to last week, while “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark” slightly boosted ticket sales for a $1.23 million finish.
Joining “Man and Boy” in previews this week are a couple other star-powered productions. John Turturro helms “Relatively Speaking” (previews September 20, opens October 20) — a compilation of three star-penned, one-act comedies. Meanwhile, Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett lend their Tinsel Town touch to the MLK, Jr. drama “The Mountaintop” (previews September 22, opens October 13).
All data provided by The Broadway League.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales
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| Production (Theatre) |
Weekly Gross | Total Atten. | Prev. | Perf. | Total Capacity | Avg. Ticket Price | Atten. % |
| Anything Goes (Sondheim) |
$815,653 | 7,916 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $103.04 | 96.4% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$628,149 | 7,956 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $78.95 | 70.0% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$477,729 | 6,098 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $78.34 | 70.6% |
| Follies (Marquis) |
$877,239 | 11,934 | 0 | 8 | 1,612 | $73.51 | 92.5% |
| How to Succeed… (Hirschfeld) |
$820,375 | 9,025 | 0 | 8 | 1,424 | $90.90 | 79.2% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$982,489 | 9,347 | 0 | 8 | 1,228 | $105.11 | 95.1% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$676,262 | 8,624 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $78.42 | 72.0% |
| Man and Boy (American Airlines) |
$213,069 | 4,060 | 7 | 0 | 728 | $52.48 | 79.7% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$572,243 | 8,654 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $66.12 | 60.2% |
| Memphis (Shubert) |
$648,373 | 8,338 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $77.76 | 70.9% |
| Priscilla…Desert (Palace) |
$734,089 | 9,884 | 0 | 8 | 1,690 | $74.27 | 73.1% |
| Rock of Ages (Hayes) |
$324,421 | 4,027 | 0 | 8 | 583 | $80.56 | 86.3% |
| Sister Act (Broadway) |
$621,509 | 8,478 | 0 | 8 | 1,493 | $73.31 | 71.0% |
| Spider-Man…Dark (Foxwoods) |
$1,231,589 | 12,194 | 0 | 8 | 1,930 | $101.00 | 79.0% |
| The Addams Family (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$511,025 | 7,985 | 0 | 8 | 1,519 | $64.00 | 65.7% |
| The Book of Mormon (O’Neill) |
$1,291,617 | 8,752 | 0 | 8 | 1,068 | $147.58 | 102.4% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,414,948 | 13,337 | 0 | 8 | 1,677 | $106.09 | 99.4% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$711,060 | 9,755 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $72.89 | 75.5% |
| War Horse (Beaumont) |
$978,375 | 8,450 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $115.78 | 98.8% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,479,369 | 13,861 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $106.73 | 95.8% |
