B'way stages rally
Play marks record; almost all musicals gain
Twenty-four shows reported increases from the previous week, with only "The Boys From Syracuse" and the previewing "Movin' Out" taking dollar dips. New to the street, "Hollywood Arms" and Jackie Mason's "Prune Danish" brought in first-week receipts of $188,618 and $255,569, respectively, putting the total number of shows on Broadway at the unseasonably high number of 28.
No wonder the previous record of $11.57 million became history. Those formerly heady dollars came from October 2000 when there were four fewer shows up and running. Paid attendance also zoomed from two years ago but not as dramatically: 202,789 in 2000; 229,116 in 2002.
Unusual for a holiday week, all plays improved. Up $4,140, "Frankie and Johnny" set a house record at the Belasco for the second week in a row; the Terrance McNally revival grossed $478,824. And "The Goat" had its best week to date as the result of a $31,915 jump there; the Edward Albee drama produced $252,871. Likewise, five-figure increases added to the glory of "The Graduate" ($338,330), "Metamorphoses" ($202,003) and "Proof" ($237,725).
"Say Goodnight Gracie" defied the usual opening-week/press-comp blues and said hello to another $21,814, even though it dropped one perf. Playing an uneven seven, the one-man show grossed $142,130, which leaves room to grow into that $296,500 gross potential.
Under the Top 10, two musicals kicked in with huge six-figure gains. "Phantom of the Opera" did its usual holiday thing, up $114,153 for a final $560,806. And the Taye Diggs effect appears to have been felt at "Chicago." Up $151,207, the Kander & Ebb revival made $537,281.
Not quite six-figures but more than $50,000, significant increases graced the final grosses for "Into the Woods" ($388,972), "Les Miserables" ($366,857) and "Rent" ($419,637).
Smaller five-figure bumps greeted "Amour" ($286,727), "Cabaret" ($392,316) and "Urinetown" ($320,366).
As for the aforementioned "Boys" and Billy Joel, the Rodgers & Hart fell $16,124 in its penultimate week at the American Airlines Theater. It earned $244,772, making it the lowest-grossing musical on Broadway. After a phenomenal first week of previews, "Movin' Out" dropped $61,110 but continued to pay the bills with $584,811.
