‘Honeymoon In Vegas’ Still Coming Up Snake Eyes As Broadway B.O. Dips 13%

UPDATE, 1 PM: Adds details of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time recouping, below.

Opening in the winter doldrums might prove disastrous for Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Bergman’s well-reviewed musical adaptation of Bergman’s 1992 comedy Honeymoon In Vegas. Two weeks after opening to what should have been money notices, the Tony Danza star vehicle still can’t get arrested: Box office at the Nederlander Theatre last week was down $15K to $425K, just shy of 37% of its $1.16 million gross potential. Attendance at the 1,174-seat house was 71%. With its large cast and orchestra, the show is bleeding red ink, an estimated loss of $150K or more per week since previews began in November.

It was a gloomy week all over the Street, which was down $3 million, or 13%, from the week before, according to figures compiled by the trade group Broadway League. Sunday saw the closing of The Last Ship, the Sting-songed musical in which the star had taken an onstage role through the holiday season in an attempt to pump up ticket sales. It didn’t work. The hit revival of Terrence McNally’s It’s Only A Play, a juggernaut in the fall, re-opened after moving up the block to the Shubert-owned Bernard Jacobs Theatre, with Martin Short continuing in the role originated for this run by Nathan Lane, opposite Matthew Broderick. It did so-so business for five performances, bringing in 62% of potential and filling close to 90% of the theater’s 1,077 seats.

Disney’s Aladdin took a $139K hit but still managed a tally of $1.3 million, 110% of potential at the flagship New Amsterdam Theatre. Also continuing above-potential b.o. were The Book Of Mormon ($1.6 million, 113% of potential) and The Elephant Man ($1 million, 110%).

There also was some good news from the Department Of London Imports: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, a National Theatre of Great Britain production and a major critical and audience hit of the season, has recouped its $4.75 million capitalization. It’s produced on Broadway by Stuart Thompson, Tim Levy for NT America, Warner Bros Theatre Ventures, Nick Starr and Chris Harper for NT Productions, Bob Boyett, Roger Berlind, Scott M. Delman, Roy Furman, Glass Half Full Productions, Ruth Hendel, Jon B. Platt, Prime Number Group, Scott Rudin, Triple Play Broadway and The Shubert Organization.