Rockers Rock Away But Broadway B.O. Steadies With ‘Vegas’

A pair of long-running nostalgic tuners — the ’80s-loving Rock Of Ages and the ’60s-loving Motown The Musical — shuttered last week (Motown plans a comeback next year; we’ll see). Two newcomers added to the mix, in a fairly quiet stretch on the Street: Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson made their Broadway debuts in the slim Constellations, earning great reviews at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s flagship Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. And similar accolades met the long-aborning Honeymoon In Vegas, at the Nederlander, giving both composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges Of Madison County, 13) and co-stars Tony Danza and Rob McClure a chance to relish their well-deserved first Broadway hits.

Total box office rose just shy of 3% for week 34 of the 2014-2015 season, according to figures released by the trade group Broadway League, to $24.4 million for 29 shows. Vegas, which had been struggling to bring in cash and theatergoers, showed signs of life and played to 82% of capacity at the Nederlander Theatre. The Nathan Lane-less revival of It’s Only A Play saw its per-ticket average plummet to a still-respectable $94.55; it’s now on hiatus as the production moves from the Schoenfeld Theatre to the Jacobs Theatre for performances resuming on January 23, with Martin Short opposite Matthew Broderick. Bradley Cooper in The Elephant Man continued to command top price for a play (in a five performance week) at $170.55, while The Book Of Mormon remained in first place overall, at $189.56.