The 2014-15 Broadway season is already one for the books. And in the aftermath of the Tony Awards telecast on June 7 — the theater’s biggest infomercial — the box-office has continued to ring up impressive amounts.Nine of the 22 shows nominated for Broadway’s highest honor took home at least one Tony Award. And while only the Best Musical trophy is traditionally regarded as a money-maker, several of the musicals that showed off their wares on the telecast enjoyed a significant bump in the box-office.“Fun Home,” which won the top award plus four more, had its best week since starting previews last March. It played to capacity (103.3%) and added $63,000 plus to its previous weekly total. The average ticket price of the musical is $117.17, not bad for a show set in a funeral home about a lesbian cartoonist coming to terms with her own sexuality while trying to understand her closeted gay father’s suicide. The Tony Award means a much wider audience for such adventurous and risky material not only on Broadway but also on the road.“An American in Paris,” the presumed favorite going into last Sunday night’s telecast, enjoyed its best week ever, taking in nearly $1.4 million at the Palace Theatre with an average ticket price of $104.89. Although the musical based on the beloved 1951 Oscar-winning film lost to “Fun Home” in something of an upset, it can trumpet its four Tony wins, including Best Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.Among the new musicals the biggest increase for the week — $118,000 — went to “Something Rotten!”, which was awarded only one Tony for Christian Borle’s kinetic performance as rock star William Shakespeare in this Elizabethan romp. Its weekly gross of more that $1,178,000 crowns Casey Nicholaw as the reigning king of Broadway since the director and choreographer did the same double duty for two other smash hits, “Book of Mormon” and “Aladdin,” Tony-winning shows which last week grossed just under $1.5 million and $1.6 million, respectively. Who wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of this former actor’s royalty checks?“The King and I,” which came home with four Tonys, including Best Musical Revival and a popular win for Kelli O’Hara as leading actress, is the hottest ticket on Broadway among the new musicals. It took in well over a $1 million last week with an average ticket price of $136.68, the third highest after “The Lion King” ($155.76) and “The Book of Mormon” ($170.80). Such is Broadway’s bullish market that shows that weren’t even nominated but which had a presence on the telecast saw a bump. Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein is enjoying the last laugh after being snubbed by the nominating committee, with his “Finding Neverland” playing to capacity at the Lunt-Fontanne and raking in over $1 million per week at an average ticket price of $98.40. The latter figure is not that great but more than respectable, especially when one considers the critical brickbats tossed at the show about J.M. Barrie and the creation of “Peter Pan.” Chalk its success up to director Diane Paulus’s expert direction, the cast, led by Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer, and the enduring appeal of that Boy Who Won’t Grow Up.It wasn’t all irrational exuberance. “The Visit,” the fourth Best Musical nominee, failed to get any traction and closed a week later. “Gigi” bids adieu on June 21. And there was only a slight increase at the box-office for two shows that have been struggling: the glitzy revival of “On the Town” and the new musical “It Shoulda Been You.” While the continued viability for both is in question, their producers at least can tout that the shows have run long enough to be branded. They are likely to enjoy a more lucrative post-Broadway life on the road or through the exploitation of their subsidiary rights.The fact that Broadway has emerged from this record-breaking season with five bonafide musical hits is nearly unprecedented, at least in recent memory. (Only three from last season are still running: “Beautiful,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” and “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” which won the Best Musical Tony.)So be warned if you are thinking of booking tickets for the holidays. You may have to dig deep into your pockets and by all means, plan ahead.
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