'Major,' '42nd St.' keep B'way on roll
Overall B.O. climbs .7%
The Roundabout's revival of "Major Barbara" began previews ($117,410 for five perfs) and took up some of the slack left by the previous session's closings: "Bells Are Ringing," "A Class Act" and "Jane Eyre."
"42nd Street" continues to be the big post-Tonys success story. Receipts soared $67,395 for a final $873,776. Although gross potential is $1,009,892, the revival did 103.7% capacity, with the average price ticket at $61.56. Joining it in the plus-100%-cap club are "The Lion King" and "The Producers."
The exiting star power of Reba McEntire at "Annie Get Your Gun" made for the week's largest increase. Up $78,120, the Irving Berlin revival had its best session ever, grossing $864,818 -- an improvement of nearly $30,000 on Bernadette Peter's top week (in November 1999). McEntire puts in her last perf Friday.
Eric McCormack's entry into "The Music Man" also continues to charm. The show gained $16,043 to finish with $557,711.
Closing notices for "Follies" (up $11,670) and "The Invention of Love" ($10,723) made for smaller upticks, with those productions grossing $383,379 and $229,160, respectively.
"The Rocky Horror Show" looks very ready for Luke Perry's entry June 26. The gender-bender shed $34,420 to finish with $186,762, with the average price ticket at $42.60.
Jon Lovitz and Larry Miller replaced Henry Winkler and John Ritter in "The Dinner Party," which created a $134,659 tumble at the box office. The Neil Simon play closed at $194,101, marking the first time it has finished under $250,000.
"Blast!" registered the session's second biggest drop, down $128,064. The marching-band tuner came in at $280,013 against its huge gross potential of $902,406 at the Broadway Theater. Playing to just over 50% capacity, the show has the bargain-basement average ticket price of $40.78, with only "George Gershwin Alone" ($39.81) and "King Hedley II" ($39.73) getting less. The August Wilson drama improved slightly, up $6,353 to finish with $183,834.
Tony Award winners "Proof" (up $10,562) and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (up $31,297) each had their second-best weeks to date. They grossed $402,141 and $388,794, respectively.
