Broadway Box Office – Hal Prince Is Back Where He Belongs; ‘Indecent’ Departs With $739K

It was a Hello, I must be going kind of week on Broadway. Prince of Broadway, the long a-borning tour through the C.V. of showman Harold Prince, settled into the Manhattan Theatre Club’s flagship Samuel J. Friedman for previews in anticipation of an August 24 opening. Indecent, the Tony-nominated show that won a six-week reprieve from early closing and saw a steady increase in sales at the Shubert Organization’s Cort Theatre, scored $739K in its final stand, a $200K lift over the previous week. Look for this show to enjoy a long afterlife on tour and in nonprofit theaters.

With summer doldrums settling in for the August lull, Broadway remained steady, with just a slight overall dip. Michael Moore wrapped a second week of previews with his The Terms of My Surrender, at the Shuberts’ Belasco, taking in $456K for seven performances, with an average ticket asking $68.11 and 95 per cent full houses; it opens August 10.

The 5 top-grossing shows were:

• Hamilton ($3.05 million at the Nederlander Organization’s Richard Rodgers; $283.28 average ticket)

• The Lion King ($2.7 million at the Nederlanders’ Minskoff; $168.02)

• Hello, Dolly! ($2.17 million at the Shubert; $185.75)

• Wicked ($1.95 million at the Nederlanders’ Gershwin; $128.24)

• Dear Evan Hansen ($1.7 million at the Shuberts’ Music Box; $213.86)

A Doll’s House, Part 2 rang up just $232K at the Shuberts’ Golden, 33 per cent of its potential and hoping for a boost after critics see the new cast this week. Two big musicals are struggling: Groundhog Day, at Jujamcyn Theatres’ August Wilson, came in under half of potential at $607.3K, with an average ticket price of $84.98. And War Paint, with Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone at the Nederlander, rang up $571K at the cosmetics counter, 45 per cent of potential, with an average ticket price of $76.87.

Total sales across 31 shows for Week 11 of the 2017-2018 Broadway season came to $31.4 million, a 1.5 per cent dip from Week 10 (but $7 million ahead of the same week one year ago), according to the trade group Broadway League. Average ticket  price was $117.97, down from $119.80 the week before.