Broadway Plays Avoiding Box-Office Doldrums

Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesFrank Wood and Christina Kirk in the Broadway play “Clybourne Park,” at the Walter Kerr Theater.

Broadway plays are often limping at the box office in May, filling seats with Tony Award voters (who don’t pay for tickets) before the annual ceremony, on June 10 this year. Several plays close right afterward, because of a lack of awards or because their star actors want to return to Hollywood (or go on vacation). But this month has been notably good for many plays, including some without stars. Last week 10 of the 14 plays on Broadway grossed more than 40 percent of the maximum possible amount – an indication that they broke even or turned a profit.

“Death of a Salesman,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield, grossed by far the most, $934,861 – a total aided by top ticket prices of $425, the sort of premium pricing that usually only hit musicals can charge safely. Another revival, “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man,” starring James Earl Jones, grossed $737,996 (with a top ticket of $225), while a third revival – “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Blair Underwood – took in $446,069 (with a $197.50 top ticket).

Of this season’s four best play Tony nominees, the two without stars – “Clybourne Park” and “Peter and the Starcatcher” – had the highest grosses, $400,448 and $370,039 respectively. The other two nominees have been running longer, but also did respectable business: “Venus in Fur” (with Hugh Dancy) grossed $293,894 and “Other Desert Cities” (with Stockard Channing) took in $292,182. Of all the original plays the top-grossing was the critically praised comedy “One Man, Two Guvnors” with $585,960. Over all, Broadway musicals and plays grossed $25.2 million last week, slightly more than the previous week; the gross for the comparable week in 2011 was $22.1 million.

Source & Image : New York Times