Bizz good; 'Couple' 814g
Broadway Grosses
Show climbed just $60,000 to the not-so-impressive peak of $186,518 -- but that's certainly the biggest bump the show's seen in the 5½ weeks it's been on the boards. Attendance was up by more than 1,000 to 3,605.
Biz looked good overall, with attendance for 30 Broadway offerings holding steady at 221,286 and total grosses up $67,816 to $15,258,839. Still, several Rialto perennials saw serious drops.
"Beauty and the Beast" ($396,841) fell a vertiginous $178,281 and "Chicago" ($440,547) slid by $151,764. "Fiddler on the Roof," "The Phantom of the Opera," "The Producers," and "Sweet Charity" took significant five-figure hits. "The Lion King" ($1,059,531) slowed by $71,691, putting it in third place behind top earner "Wicked" ($1,304,041) and runner-up "Monty Python's Spamalot" ($1,074,105).
"The Color Purple" bowed just under the top 10, taking in a $500,499 for seven previews (with a gross potential of $974,537). We'll get a good indicator of just how much B.O. Oprah Winfrey's name can bring in after Nov. 11, when she pushes "Purple" on her talkshow.
"Jersey Boys'" wraps were over $400,000.
After its heavily comped opening week, "The Odd Couple" ($813,655) regained ground to the tune of $106,439, and Lincoln Center's "Seascape" ($137,229) grew by a hearty $81,513.
"Sweeney Todd" (over $750,000) fell $36,739 in its opening week, but the rapturous reviews it garnered Nov. 4 seem likely to give it a boost in the weeks to come.
The 22 musicals grossed $13,241,744 for 86.8% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 189,597 at 75.2% of capacity.
The seven plays grossed $2,017,095 for 13.2% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 31,689 at 72.8% capacity.
Average paid admission was $69.84 for musicals, $63.65 for plays and $68.96 for all shows.
