
The Broadway transfer of The Band’s Visit – which topped many critics’ Best Of lists last season in its off-Broadway premiere at the Atlantic Theatre Company – played to full houses in its first full week of previews. David Yazbek and Itamar Moses’ adaptation of the Israeli film, with a cast led by Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and Katrina Lenk (Indecent), took in $769K, 84 percent of its gross potential, with tickets averaging $104.84 for seven performances at the Shubert Organization’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Also in previews: Julie Taymor’s Broadway return with a revival of David Henry Hwang’s Tony-winning drama M. Butterfly, starring Clive Owen, at the Shuberts’ Cort. That one sold $521.4K worth of tickets, average price $84.84, reaching 63 percent of potential and filling 83 percent of the seats.
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Review: Bruce Springsteen On Broadway
Springsteen on Broadway opened at Jujamcyn Theatres’ Walter Kerr to rapturous reviews (except for one guy in Jersey, go figure), so its gross fell a bit, given press comps and opening-night freebies. The Boss still took in $1.9 million for five performances (his schedule for the run); average price, $409.97; and, of course, every seat in the 939-seat house filled.
The five top-grossing shows were:
• Hamilton ($2.93 million at the Nederlander Organization’s Richard Rodgers; $272.55 average ticket)
• Hello, Dolly! ($2.37 million at the Shubert; $202.61)
• The Lion King ($2.07 million at the Nederlanders’ Minskoff; $153.32)
• Springsteen on Broadway ($1.92 million at the Kerr; $409.97)
• Wicked ($1.77 million at the Nederlanders’ Gershwin; $120.86)
Most shows were steady during Week 21 of the 2017-18 season. There was some pain at The Lion King, off $198K, and Wicked, off $102K, but as you can see from the chart above, no significant harm to those durable long-runs. Total sales, according to the trade group Broadway League, hit $29.9 million, down $311K or 1 percent, from the week before. Average ticket price across all 28 shows was $123.89; that will rise again next week when Springsteen on Broadway returns to its buyers-only schedule.
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