Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 1/28/24

The Merrily average has been trending down now ( yes I know, it's still 200+)

EDSOSLO858 said: "With the Ohio and Harmony upticks in their home stretches, this may bring up an interesting question: should more new musicals be limited runs in this day and age?"

I think it's more that those shows were fairly middling in terms of reviews/word of mouth, but still had a small group of core fans that really loved and cared about the show so want to show up for the last week to see it another time (which is fairly common for a lot of shows when they announce closing). Maybe they would've seen better sales if it had initially been announced as a limited run because people would "have" to go sooner instead of assuming it would run, but I doubt it would've been that big of a difference.

Appropriate is doing great in terms of the numbers, so transferring to run longer seems like a good move but I wonder if it will have lost some of its shine by then. Sweeney also seems to be doing well in terms of audience numbers, but I'm curious to see what kind of price point they'd be able to sustain without stars in the roles when it's not Broadway week.

Fairly good bump for some. Not the drop in average ticket prices though. The Broadway week promos definitely gave some shows a decent boost.

Jarethan said: "Thinking about it, though, that is pretty much what Days of Wine and Roses is trying to do, and it doesn't seem to be working, unless the reviews help. When it was announced, I assumed that someone with deep pockets just wanted to see it on Broadway, financials be damned."

It’s on Broadway to qualify for Tonys and garner interest in maybe a London transfer and future regional productions. There is almost no world where a 3-month run with no celebrities to make it a guaranteed sell-out would have turned a profit.

jkcohen626 said: "What a strong week for the plays! SO glad the non-profits are finally having some much-deserved post-COVID success! Hopefully Doubt, Mary Jane, Mother Play, and Uncle Vanya will continue this trend!"

Those you name all have bankable stars in their own right, so I feel like this Spring is going to see some strong play grosses that we haven't seen for a while. Appropriate is also likely going to be on the boards through the Tonys too if the rumors of a transfer to the Belasco are true.

Mr. Wormwood said: "What a success story Gutenburg was... I definitely didn't anticipate it being such a hit.

I feel like plays don't get talked about that much in these grosses posts but Appropriate is really doing well"

Gutenberg feels like it was tailor-made for the current climate. Small cast, small band, stars, relatively cheap physical production (although it was certainly more than I thought it would be). BUT, I definitely didn't expect it to do quite as well as it has!

Will the St. James have a new tenant for spring?

rosscoe(au) said: "I tired winning the lottery for Purlie. Thinking it would be easy , nope. Same as Appropriate."

It was easy forever - but now the run is ending and everyone’s hightailing it over. I didn’t see it as many times I did without a wheelbarrow full of luck

Matt Rogers said: "Mr. Wormwood said: "What a success story Gutenburg was... I definitely didn't anticipate it being such a hit.

I feel like plays don't get talked about that much in these grosses posts but Appropriate is really doing well"

Well, if you are charging and getting over $300 for a majority of seats and $200+ for the rest of them, it’s hard not to do “really well”."

It's very easy to do poorly by overcharging and very hard to be a show that is able to charge high prices. Of course I wish prices were lower, but you can't blame prices for a show doing well. It's the demand that allows a show to do well. Shows are only able to charge those prices when there are people willing to pay them.

quizking101 said: "CoffeeBreak said: "Will the St. James have a new tenant for spring?"

Unless SPAMALOT takes an absolute nosedive, not a chance. A friend of mine is a producer on the show and they are making their nut with a little extra coin and they recently extended through July. They’re hoping for some key Tony noms so they can justify making the run open-ended."

Well it won’t be open ended at the St James given Sunset Boulevard is starting there in November. Labor Day is probably most reasonable. And Spamalot is launching a tour in the fall aren’t they?

Broadway Flash said: "Why on earth would sunset want that theatre. Probably because they think they can sell out every night and make millions a week."

It's produced by ATG, so it'll go into an ATG/Jujamcyn theatre. It has a big cast and big orchestra and needs a theatre big enough to accommodate that. With the Wilson and Hirschfeld unlikely to be open, that leaves the St. James.