For decades Broadway was commonly referred to as “The Fabulous Invalid.” Not anymore. She ended 2015 dancing in the aisles to the ring of cash registers tallying an unprecedented bonanza, with ticket sales shattering previous records both in attendance and grosses — the holiday week alone saw 20 shows pull in over $1 million and four more bring in over $2 million. Despite the economic woes, it appears that producers are coming up with shows that the public is more than willing to fork over their hard-earned dollars for.The spectacular grosses were, to some extent, due to an added performance to the usual eight-performance week. That shot “Wicked,” the box-office champ, to the top of the heap with a gross just shy of $3 million. Rounding off the numbers, “The Lion King” ($2.9) and “Aladdin” ($2.4) were in second and third place, and “The Book of Mormon” also made the top tier with just over $2 million. In fact, the latter had the highest average ticket price ($205.62) on Broadway, indicative of how much pressure there is for premium “Mormon” seats, which sell for $477.00.Of the new shows this season, the phenomenon that is “Hamilton” came through with a gross just shy of $2 million and an average ticket price of $182. 39. And also powering through the week was the new Bartlett Sher revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” ($1,725,264). The grosses were not exactly chump change for two other new shows, “School of Rock” and “On Your Feet!,” which brought in $1,671,622 and $1,495,724, respectively. The success of “School of Rock” must be particularly gratifying to Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has not had a Broadway hit since “Phantom of the Opera” opened 28 years ago. Still, one shouldn’t cry for the composer of “Evita.” The $1.6 million gross of “Phantom” last week means that it’ll be decades, if ever, before another show breaks its status as the longest-running musical in Broadway history. The total worldwide gross, and counting, for “Phantom of the Opera” exceeds $6 billion dollars. By comparison, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is a piker, having taken in a mere $1.6 billion so far.However, the resilience of shows will be tested in the coming months as the doldrums of winter set in and the Broadway box-office suffers as a result. So look out for discounts to help offset the seasonal downturn.
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