By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on September 25, 2012 3:28 AM
This Week On Broadway, Newsies And Once See Slight Decline In Capacity Following Rosh Hashanah Week, Other Shows Like The Book Of Mormon And Wicked Experienced Minor Revenue Increases
Cinderella Shows See Slight Decrease on Broadway
Newsies and Once, both Cinderella stories over the summer, have seen slight declines in business this post Rosh Hashanah week (both saw over 3% decrease in their total capacity). Whether or not this bodes ill for these new musicals going forward remains to be seen, but it could be that the post-Tony Awards buzz is starting to wear off- The departure of Jeremy Jordan probably didn't help, but his inclusion into NBC's "Smash" may raise awareness of his roots.
The longer-running Broadway show hits The Book of Mormon, Jersey Boys, and Wicked all experienced slight upturns in revenue, proving the value of having a well-marketed, much-buzzed-about "brand name" to sell to tourists who are looking for a title they recognize (but have probably already seen Phantom, Chicago and Mamma Mia!). Porgy and Bess received its anticipated last minute buying spree and closed with a strong 87% full and $96 average ticket paid, it actually placed ninth in highest grossing Broadway show this week - not bad for this new perspective on Gershwin's classic. Its run was rocky, but encouraging - as it did recoup its investment.
Some Shows are Facing Challenges
An Enemy of the People's struggle continues, as its average paid admission went down from an already low $44.74 last week to $39.35 this week. The other new production of a classic play to recently start performances, Cyrano de Bergerac, is also having difficulties, with its capacity falling from 74.39% to 66.27%. However, Cyrano did at least see an increase in average paid admission from $38.16 to $46.41, less papering and more paid audience. Does papering a Broadway show actually save a show, or does it create the air of desperation from which a show can never recover?
The Following are the Broadway Ticket Sales Numbers from the Week Ending September 23, 2012:
| Show Name | GrossGross | TotalAttn | %Cap | AvgPaidAdm |
| AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE | $182,194 | 4,630 | 89.87% | $39.35 |
| BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL | $371,851 | 6,724 | 63.01% | $55.30 |
| CHAPLIN | $444,259 | 6,045 | 72.31% | $73.49 |
| CHICAGO | $619,591 | 7,425 | 85.94% | $83.45 |
| CYRANO DE BERGERAC | $178,864 | 3,854 | 66.27% | $46.41 |
| EVITA | $1,045,494 | 10,058 | 77.99% | $103.95 |
| GRACE | $465,332 | 6,601 | 76.47% | $70.49 |
| JERSEY BOYS | $976,415 | 9,171 | 93.35% | $106.47 |
| MAMMA MIA! | $729,744 | 9,040 | 75.43% | $80.72 |
| MARY POPPINS | $604,542 | 9,026 | 62.79% | $66.98 |
| NEWSIES | $800,484 | 9,249 | 96.75% | $86.55 |
| NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT | $902,213 | 9,252 | 80.37% | $97.52 |
| ONCE | $970,686 | 8,060 | 95.23% | $120.43 |
| PETER AND THE STARCATCHER | $294,536 | 5,203 | 62.66% | $56.61 |
| PORGY AND BESS | $891,566 | 9,281 | 86.90% | $96.06 |
| ROCK OF AGES | $464,585 | 4,412 | 94.60% | $105.30 |
| SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK | $1,113,184 | 11,874 | 76.90% | $93.75 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,626,122 | 8,752 | 102.63% | $185.80 |
| THE LION KING | $1,555,752 | 13,222 | 98.55% | $117.66 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $803,236 | 10,566 | 82.29% | $76.02 |
| WAR HORSE | $535,858 | 7,067 | 82.64% | $75.83 |
| WICKED | $1,495,735 | 13,562 | 93.71% | $110.29 |
| Total: | $17,072,241 | 183,074 | 82.57% | $88.56 |
*Broadway Grosses provided courtesy of The Broadway League
