Broadway Sets New Record for Ticket Grosses

Helped in part by an increase in top ticket prices, Broadway set a new record for ticket grosses –$939 million — during the 2006-2007 season, according to information compiled by the League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. The figure marked a 8.9% percent increase from last year.

In addition, paid attendance for the 52-week period that ended on May 29 was 12.311 million, a 2.6 percent increase over the previous season, and the number of playing weeks (which is defined as the sum total of all shows multiplied by the number of weeks each show played) rose slightly to 1,509 weeks, the second-highest on record.

Thirty-five new productions opened during the past season, almost evenly divided between plays (18) and musicals (17). Among the season’s most notable openings were Mary Poppins, The Coast of Utopia, Legally Blonde, The Year of Magical Thinking, and the transfers of the musicals Spring Awakening and Grey Gardens, both of which originated Off-Broadway. In addition, a number of musicals continued their successful runs on their Great White Way, including Wicked, Monty Python’s Spamalot, The Color Purple, and Hairspray.

While optimistic about Broadway’s overall performance for 2006-2007, Charlotte St. Martin, the executive director of The League of American Theatres and Producers, sounded a note of caution: “Even though Broadway contributes almost $5 billion to New York City’s economy and supports 45,000 full-time equivalent jobs, we must continue to protect and preserve its vitality, which means, among other things, addressing escalating costs and doing all we can to increase the number of shows that recoup their investment in order to continue creating a diverse group of new shows.”