B'way comedies laff all way to the bank
B.O. still limp after post-comeback drop-off
Pre-Thanksgiving biz is rarely robust, but last week the overall box office tally -- down 5.8% -- took a slighter bigger hit than usual. Twenty-eight shows produced receipts of $11,503,153, off $710,090 from the previous week.
Broadway's newest shows bucked the downward trend. Performing at 90.5% capacity, "Noises Off" put another $8,996 into its coffers for a final $391,636. Its discounted average price ticket of $51.47 gives the show room to grow into its $522,566 gross potential.
With their heavily comped opening weeks behind them, "The Women" and "45 Seconds From Broadway" registered respective bumps of $67,972 and $20,094 at the box office. At 100.4% capacity, the all-star Clare Boothe Luce revival closed with $312,456, providing the Roundabout with its highest grossing week yet at the American Airlines Theater; gross potential looms just slightly overhead at $349,943. The Neil Simon comedy took in $325,326, with its G.P. somewhat higher, at $628,400.
In previews, John Leguizamo's "Sexaholix" enjoyed its best week to date, with a final $307,090 against its $383,508 potential.
Worth noting: Broadway's top four grossing plays are all comedies.
Dramatic turns
New this season, the dramas "Hedda Gabler" and "Dance of Death" took respective tumbles of $12,526 and $59,048. Ibsen grossed $193,787 while Strindberg made $299,766.
"Proof" and "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," held over from last season, both had low five-figure declines that gave them final figures of $297,637 and $292,539, respectively.
Only one musical, "The Producers," gained ground. Up $12,361, the Mel Brooks tuner produced its best week to date, grossing $1,109,072. Elsewhere, there were four-figure downticks that left some shows, for better or worse, nearly unchanged: "By Jeeves" ($213,342), "The Lion King" ($1,031,081), "The Rocky Horror Show" ($136,463) and "Thou Shalt Not" ($261,835).
Steeper five-figure declines gave "Les Miserables" ($276,313) and "The Phantom of the Opera" ($402,823) their lowest-grossing sessions since the debacle of Sept. 17-23. Down $93,561, "Chicago" experienced the biggest plummet and closed at $358,139.
New tuners fared better but were not immune to B.O. slippage. Performing at 99.5% capacity, "Mamma Mia" fell $21,752 to close at $882,052, while "Urinetown" dipped $22,650 for a final $320,457 against its gross potential of $386,346.
