'Sons' boosts Broadway box office

Katie Holmes helps fill seats for Miller revival

By GORDON COX

Holmes

Daniel Radcliffe starrer 'Equus' has been the fall's top-grossing play.

"All My Sons," the revival of the 1947 Arthur Miller play that co-stars Katie Holmes, filled nearly all its seats in its first five previews as the Broadway box office continued to climb out of its post-Labor Day slump.

Holmes' appearance in the production created a high media profile for the show, which pulled in a hefty $478,235 for five perfs and played to houses that averaged almost 98% capacity.

That puts "Sons" in the race for the fall's top-grossing straight play, a position currently held by Daniel Radcliffe starrer "Equus" ($631,313 for seven previews). Last week "Equus" played to about 80% capacity, although sales could step up if the show fares well with Gotham critics in the wake of its opening this Thursday.

Also new to the Rialto last week were "The Seagull," tallying $369,609 in a respectable first-week bow, and teen-centric tuner "13" ($203,325). Both productions played full frames of eight perfs each.

New receipts from "Sons," "Seagull" and "13" help account for an overall rise in coin taken in by the Rialto, up more than $1.7 million to $15.5 million for 28 shows on the boards (or $16.2 million including estimates for "Young Frankenstein"). Almost every individual production climbed.

"Monty Python's Spamalot" ($494,410) bumped up close to $80,000 to log the biggest jump of the week, with increased sales attributable in part to the Sept. 19 return of Clay Aiken. Perennial "The Phantom of the Opera" ($731,525) also rose by more than $75,000.

Rounding out the newer additions to the Main Stem, "A Tale of Two Cities" ($387,945) held steady even in its comp-heavy opening-night frame, while the Roundabout's revival of "A Man for All Seasons" ($259,115) played its first full week of previews.