Broadway Journal

AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP & ITS PRODUCTIONS SECURED $79 MILLION IN U.S. AID (EXCLUSIVE)

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As lead producer and landlord of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite, Ambassador Theatre Group has bragging rights to the most commercially successful play of the 2021-22 Broadway season.

The average ticket price for the Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick revival was $213 the week ended May 29, behind only The Music Man and Hamilton. Pairs go for as much as $2,051, which includes Piper-Heidsieck Champagne and Ladurée macarons served in a semi-private lounge at ATG’s Hudson Theatre.

The U.K.-based conglomerate isn’t crowing. “ATG does not control, and cannot provide comment about” Plaza Suite, an ATG spokesman told Broadway Journal in an email. Continue Reading

PANDEMIC PUMMELS AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP (EXCLUSIVE)

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The self-described “world’s No. 1 live theater company” has taken a drubbing.

The parent company of U.K.-based Ambassador Theatre Group reported a pretax loss of $202 million for the 12 months ended in March 2021. The holding company attributed the results to Covid-19, which decimated rental income when its theaters shuttered in March 2020.Continue Reading

‘PLAZA SUITE’ ADVANCE SALE TOPS $10 MILLION; BOSTON CRITICS SIDELINED

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EXCLUSIVE: A month before previews start on Broadway, the limited run of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite  is approaching full occupancy.

The advance sale for the revival with husband-and-wife stars Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker has surpassed $10 million, according to a person familiar with the production. Its tryout at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre ends on Saturday and previews begin on March 13 at the Hudson Theatre.

In response to the strong demand for tickets in Boston and New York, lead producer Ambassador Theatre Group, which operates the Colonial and the Hudson, has already raised prices on Broadway by as much as 150 percent.Continue Reading

‘HARRY POTTER’ & THE CURSED BOX OFFICE YARDSTICK

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The last week of July 2019 was business as usual for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child  on Broadway. Sales rose less than 2 percent to $1.4 million, according to data from the Broadway League, the trade association of producers and theater owners.

But there was a huge increase in a closely watched measure in those seven days. Harry Potter ‘s sales jumped from 84 percent of its “gross potential” to 101 percent, according to the same posting. What changed was the basis for comparison.  After four months of claiming a weekly gross potential of $1.7 million, the production slashed the figure to $1.4 million.

Like average ticket prices, sales relative to gross potential is an important signifier of a show’s box office strength. But gross potential, which the League posts weekly with other box office figures, loses value as a benchmark of success when it fluctuates along with ticket prices.Continue Reading

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