Broadway Grosses Question....

After looking at "Jersey Boys" box office grosses for this past week I couldn't help wondering. Has a show in previews with a poor seating attendance (45-65 % capacity) ever been able to come out a hit? Just seeing such low numbers seems like a dark cloud over the production. I do believe I've seen shows in previews with an attendance capacity of 70-85 % going on to be successful but with figures as low as "Jersey Boys"....the trend seems to hold little hope for the show. A six month run maybe but a financial hit?....I fear not. Did the show play out of town first? In fact other than "Wicked" being less than stellar in its out of town reviews, it seems that shows like "Hairspray", "Lion King" and "Spamalot" all had a great buzz going for themselves before hitting NY. Can a show that doesn't give itself the benefit of a positive out of town try out or an off-Broadway pre-run make it these days? I guess very good reviews and strong word of mouth are a must but with ticket prices so high these days people seem to be a bit more choosey in picking their shows.

I saw this comment in achieve, has anyone got a opinion as well?

I feel that reviews don't play as big a part as they once did. I think that this like message boards and word of mouth play a big part.

If reviews were the make and break of a show then something like Wicked wouldn't be open.

Keep in mind that Wicked was on TKTS during previews as were a lot of shows that turned out to be hits.

I think its hard to tell what will be a hit and what won't. It is all a shot in the dark most of the time. As I said there are some shows that have been doing great ine previews that do continue to do great when the show opens.

---

Phantom - what are you doing down there in those bl**dy archives?

Don't get left alone in there with Wickedboy2 - we won't be able to hear you scream.