August : Osage County does brisk bussiness-$600,000

Great news. I bought my ticket last night for Friday, January 18th. I'm really looking forward to this one.

Yeh, the box office was very busy today. I bought tickets for next Friday today around noon, and I was 6th in line and when I left there were about 9 or 10 in line.

Sales are still going strong:

""August: Osage County" hit around $650,000 in ticket sales Wednesday, the day the 3½-hour Broadway play scored a slew of raves in the Gotham press.
Tally, reported by producer Jeffrey Richards, looked poised to climb past $1 million Thursday.

Biz for Steppenwolf Theater's production of "August," which opened Tuesday at the Imperial Theater, is unusually high for a straight play, a legit genre that tends to attract smaller auds than razzle-dazzle tuners.

"It's a huge number for a play," said Philip J. Smith, prexy of the Shubert Org, which owns the Imperial along with 15 other Rialto houses. "It's almost like a musical."

In Smith's estimation, the last time a Broadway play achieved a similarly boffo post-opening figure was the original 1984 production of Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing," starring Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close, which wrapped around $200,000 the day after the showopened.

Bustling B.O. is a relief for "August," one of three plays that did not open on its originally skedded date (Nov. 20) due to the recent stagehands strike. Plays are particularly reliant on word of mouth to help drive sales, and the 19 dark days of the shutdown were a major blow to the tix momentum of "August," along with fellow non-tuners "The Seafarer" and "Is He Dead?"

Reviews also were expected to play an important role in selling "August," a show with no big-name stars to draw crowds. Play is a Rialto debut for scribe Tracy Letts, best known for Off Broadway hits "Killer Joe" and "Bug."

Plot centers on a volatile Oklahoma family reuniting after the disappearance of its patriarch. Helmed by Anna D. Shapiro, production preemed last summer at Chicago's Steppenwolf and earned glowing reviews.

Gotham transfer, which stars 11 of the 13 Chi thesps, is produced by Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler and Jerry Frankel, among others.

Booming B.O. seems likely to fuel awards talk for cast members (including Amy Morton and Deanna Dunagan) and keep alive the early Pulitzer buzz that originated in Chicago.

If sales keep up, the run could extend past the planned Feb. 17 closing, although not indefinitely -- "Billy Elliot" is tipped to head into the Imperial in fall 2008."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117977250.html?categoryid=15&cs=1

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I've never laughed so hard at any Broadway show (well, maybe except Lestat, mhm).

Congratulations, August: Osage County! You deserve all these praises.

Awwwwwww. Good for them! I'm seeing it in two weeks and can't wait.

This year is the year of the straight play...

August, Seafarer, Rock 'n Roll, Farnsworth, The Homecoming, Is He Dead, Cyrano and more!

The pickings for musicals are much slimmer (although I'm extremely excited for "In the Heights" transferring!)

"Bustling B.O. is a relief for "August," one of three plays that did not open on its originally skedded date (Nov. 20) due to the recent stagehands strike."

This is why I can't stand reading Variety.

Just write out the gosh darn words!

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(just listen -- ignore the video, because it doesn't even match the lyrics, but I couldn't find the original video)
For Foster :-)

Just saw it tonight. WOW. I'm still processing. The more I see, the more I'm figuring out how screwed up my family is because we're NOT screwed up. Or maybe how weird my family is because we're not screwed up. Still, there were definitely a few moments I could relate to in some way. Excellent show.

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Yeah, it was kind of crazy last night. Half an hour before the show they only had one window open and the line was to the street. I'd picked up my ticket before so I could eat dinner, and then it was still to the first door. They had closed a window, but then finally asked the person at the window who was waiting on her tickets how many people were in line, then peeked through the blinds and re-opened the window they'd just closed. I couldn't help but think it might be better to pay the fee to print your own ticket for this one.

Still, it was well worth it.

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