Planning to visit New York (Broadway, specifically) now? Maybe in the weeks/months ahead?
The picture is getting rosier, now that box office gross figures are now being shared for the Broadway community … visitors like us. Nothing succeeds like success.
Two startling points:
- “The Music Man,” unofficially known as the Hugh Jackman show, brought in $3,451,723.68. It needed a bona fide household-known “name” star. And it’s got one of the most luminous stars of screen and stage.
- “Hamilton,” which used to be the consistent No. 1 winner before the pandemic, grossed $2,272,219.00. It created stardom for Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. in particular, but it doesn’t need a “name” star.
“The Music Man” is a reboot and would be harder to sell if there weren’t a Jackman as the centrifugal force; in Broadway parlance, a name-above-the-title star. The parallel situation is, if you didn’t have a Bette Midler, you wouldn’t have had a hot “Hello, Dolly!” “Hamilton” created stars, in its early run, and the title is the mega-wattage star, no matter who’s in the show.
Gross figures for the week ending March 20, 2022
| Show Name | Gross | TotalAttn | Capacity | %Capacit | Avg. Paid Admission |
| ALADDIN | $1,201,219.15 | 13,386 | 13,816 | 96.89% | $89.74 |
| AMERICAN UTOPIA | $977,736.10 | 8,896 | 9,054 | 98.25% | $109.91 |
| BIRTHDAY CANDLES | $148,611.00 | 2,111 | 2,181 | 96.79% | $70.40 |
| CHICAGO | $587,788.32 | 6,687 | 8,640 | 77.40% | $87.90 |
| COME FROM AWAY | $620,294.30 | 7,061 | 8,368 | 84.38% | $87.85 |
| COMPANY | $889,139.99 | 7,833 | 8,368 | 93.61% | $113.51 |
| DEAR EVAN HANSEN | $814,752.25 | 6,870 | 7,872 | 87.27% | $118.60 |
| HADESTOWN | $1,104,678.10 | 7,428 | 7,344 | 101.14% | $148.72 |
| HAMILTON | $2,272,219.00 | 10,667 | 10,592 | 100.71% | $213.01 |
| HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD | $1,704,152.10 | 12,031 | 12,976 | 92.72% | $141.65 |
| MJ THE MUSICAL | $1,314,240.70 | 10,270 | 11,096 | 92.56% | $127.97 |
| MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL | $1,381,323.45 | 9,705 | 10,400 | 93.32% | $142.33 |
| PARADISE SQUARE | $355,401.00 | 7,588 | 7,848 | 96.69% | $46.84 |
| PLAZA SUITE | $1,657,089.80 | 7,792 | 7,800 | 99.90% | $212.67 |
| SIX | $1,284,951.00 | 8,252 | 8,248 | 100.05% | $155.71 |
| TAKE ME OUT | $351,019.03 | 4,045 | 4,680 | 86.43% | $86.78 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,080,338.06 | 8,442 | 8,528 | 98.99% | $127.97 |
| THE LION KING | $1,778,641.00 | 13,399 | 13,568 | 98.75% | $132.74 |
| THE MUSIC MAN | $3,451,723.68 | 12,185 | 12,200 | 99.88% | $283.28 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $959,191.06 | 10,019 | 12,840 | 78.03% | $95.74 |
| TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL | $778,221.50 | 6,471 | 11,824 | 54.73% | $120.26 |
| WICKED | $1,944,704.00 | 14,901 | 14,932 | 99.79% | $130.51 |
Another startling point: Broadway may be back, but the New York Times’ Sunday Theater Directory, once a major go-to-resources for out-of-towners,
is quite skimpy in advertisers buying listings to snare prospective ticket-buyers eager to learn what’s playing and when. Won’t help you with the overview of what’s open for business.
So: online searches, like Ticketmaster or Telecharge, will be resources to check out what’s playing, with ticket prices and seat choices vying for buyers’ attention. This could be a tedious and time-consuming project to decide what to see and when.
Of course, there is the option of the TKTS discount booth in Times Square, where long-running shows offer discounted tickets for same-day purchases. There is a $6 fee per ticket now; further, there’s a Fast Pass option where, within a week of obtaining the pass, you can access sales and bypass the long lines. Mostly for bargain hunters who haven’t yet seen the likes of “The Lion King,” “Wicked,” “The Phantom of the Opera” or “The Book of Mormon.”
Don’t expect to find discounted seats for “The Music Man” and “Hamilton” here. Full price, for certain. …
And that’s Show Biz….