B'way biz boffo over holiday weekend
'Beauty,' 'Hairspray,' 'Producers' pull in big numbers
|
Strong numbers for stalwarts -- "Beauty and the Beast" ($886,047), "Hairspray" ($855,363) and "The Producers" ($870,658) posted particularly large bumps -- coupled with robust new contenders -- Julia Roberts starrer "Three Days of Rain" pulled in another $983,443 -- helped buoy totals.
Cume for all 34 shows on the boards came to $20,296,769 for the week ending April 16, topping the prior sesh by more than $2 million.
"Jersey Boys" ($1,013,616) finally joined the millionaires' club after weeks of just missing it. It joined a crowd that included "Wicked" ($1,454,174), "The Lion King" ($1,282,079), "Monty Python's Spamalot" ($1,098,617), "The Color Purple" ($1,080,581), and "Mamma Mia!" ($1,061,685).
Several other shows played to 100% capacity auds or more, including "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" ($452,693) and "The Pajama Game" ($442,868).
"Tarzan" ($391,794 for five perfs) continued to sell out its preview period, while "Lestat" ($585,971) rose a tad.
Among the few shows to dip were "Festen" ($193,536), feeling the effects of mixed-to-negative reviews, and the struggling "Ring of Fire" ($177,795).
Two shows jumped on the late-spring bandwagon: "The History Boys" ($211,040 for three perfs) and "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" ($114,085), a slow starter despite the presence of "Friends" star David Schwimmer.
