Biz up; 'Caesar' 545g
Broadway grosses
Previewing productions showed definite promise.
New to the block is the Denzel Washington starrer "Julius Caesar" ($545,149), which looks like a Billy Crystal-size hit. The production's first eight previews at the Belasco Theater landed somewhere between what "700 Sundays" did in its first four previews ($492,474) and its second six previews ($635,476) at the larger Broadhurst Theater.
Performing its first six, "Doubt" ($241,812) also came to Broadway, where its gross potential stood at $414,299. The John Patrick Shanley play had an average ticket price of $56.25, vs. $58.80 for "The Glass Menagerie" ($319,855), which saw its receipts increase slightly, up $8,197.
"All Shook Up" ($416,081) continued with its seven-preview sked, its receipts growing $49,216. It played to 85.3% capacity, its numbers pumped by a low $41.58 average ticket.
Biggest gain came to "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" ($622,965), which rose $140,363 in its first full week of regular perfs. Its gross pushed "Fiddler on the Roof" ($608,203) off the top 10 chart despite a $70,356 bounce there.
The 19 musicals grossed $11,825,464 for 81.1% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 181,055 at 84.7% of capacity.
The nine plays grossed $2,762,439 for 18.9% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 40,736 at 70.5% of capacity.
Average ticket prices were $65.31 for musicals, $67.81 for plays and $65.77 for all shows.
