Broadway ticket sales continued their descent through the Labor Day weekend with a decrease of nearly $28,000 from the previous week; however, despite the overall drop, several shows experienced a significant jump in sales — once again the show’s playing their final performances had the greatest increase.
According to figures posted by The Broadway League, receipts for all 22 productions on the Great White Way totaled $19.3 million with a decrease among only five of the shows.
“The Lion King” continued to hang on to the top spot with ticket sales totaling $1.72 million, according to Playbill.com. “Wicked” followed closely behind with sales of $1.7 million. Fellow family-friendly show, “Mary Poppins,” didn’t have much luck this week — the show had the greatest decrease through Sunday with sales down $69,571 from the previous week. Ticket sales for “Newsies” were also down despite a packed audience at 101.1 percent of capacity.
“One Man, Two Guvnors” ended its Broadway run playing to a full house at 97 percent capacity, according to Broadway.com. The show also broke the house record at the Music Box Theatre for the fifth time with receipts totaling $853,768, up $107,361 through Sunday. Tony-winner “Clybourne Park” also played its final show, earning ticket sales of $486,336, up almost $66,000 from the previous week. “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” will play its final performance on September 9, but it seems as though theatergoers are already scrambling to see the show before it ends. Sales for “Gore Vidal” were up $73,965 from the previous week and capacity was up 5.4 percent.
Ticket sales for “Nice Work If You Can Get It” increased dramatically this week with an increase of $393,967, the greatest of any Broadway production. During Matthew Broderick’s vacation from the show, sales fell over $200,000, proving that the actor is a definite asset to the production.
Without any big name actors, Broadway newcomer “Chaplin” seems to be off to a slow start. Ticket sales for the show totaled $390,616, up $33,734 through Sunday across eight preview performances. The show, which is scheduled to open September 10, seems to be attracting a sizeable audience with 75.3 percent capacity, up 3.6 percent from the previous week.
Despite the overall decrease of Broadway ticket sales due to a number of closings over the summer, the sales for several shows seem to be picking up. The fall Broadway schedule is packed with openings which will likely help to boost overall ticket sales. Shows like “An Enemy of the People,” “Grace,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” and “Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons On Broadway” will open on the Great White Way in the upcoming weeks.
To view the full listing of Broadway sales for the week ending September 2, 2012, visit The Broadway League.
