NEW YORK -- In Week 39 (Feb. 21-27), Broadway set a record for the mid-February timeframe. Twenty-five shows brought in $15,092,662, up $852,925 (5.99%) from the previous session.
Paid attendance, however, continued to lag. Last week's 225,522 didn't quite match the 233,364 from February 2004.
Despite some crix comps, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" ($662,211) gained $62,684 for its highest-grossing session; it opened March 3.
Also in previews, "Spamalot" ($847,418) added one to put in a full eight perfs, with an additional $127,994 to show for it. The Monty Python redux played to 96.8% capacity; "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" performed to 88.4%.
After clocking in just one preview the previous week, "All Shook Up" ($418,997) put in seven, sparking a $323,591 gain there. It played to 83.9% capacity, but did so with a cut-rate $42.56 average price ticket. "Spamalot" averaged a hotsy $74.77; "Scoundrels" came in at a decent $65.22.
"The Glass Menagerie" ($259,564) grossed impressively for its first five previews. Christian Slater goes into the show March 8, with opening night now pushed back to March 22.
Good news for "Little Women" ($481,519): It built on its numbers from the Presidents Day session, if only marginally. Receipts were up $20,792. But it was bad news for "Good Vibrations" ($294,249), whose gross dropped a sharp $54,489.
The 19 musicals grossed $12,970,436 for 85.9% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 193,346 at 90.4% of capacity.
The six plays grossed $2,122,226 for 14.1% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 32,176 at 80.2% of capacity.
Average ticket prices were $67.08 for musicals, $65.96 for plays and $66.92 for all shows.
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