The Tony Awards delivered at the box office.
Many winners at Radio City Music Hall on June 11 had their bestselling weeks to-date after being recognized for achievement and, in the case of musicals, making the most of the international platform to present songs from their shows.
Those posting best-ever weeks included Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler ($2.3 million, after four Tonys, including best musical revival and best actress in a musical), Come From Away ($1.2 million, after best direction of a musical), Oslo ($808,00, best play and best featured actor in Michael Aronov) and Bandstand ($643,000, best choreography). Numbers come from the Broadway League.
Dolly! had the highest weekly tally for any show in the history of the Shubert Organization’s 17 houses. (Hamilton did $3 million, its weekly average since February. It’s in a Nederlander house.)
The production, led by Scott Rudin, recently raised the top price for the first row of the Shubert Theatre to as much as $998, before fees. For performances with Donna Murphy as Dolly Gallagher Levi, first row can be had for a relative bargain of $169. Murphy, like Midler, is a two-time Tony winner. Murphy performs on Tuesdays and other selected dates.
Although Tony ratings fell by almost a third from last year, when Hamilton-mania swept Broadway, the sales jump shows that a little-watched program still helps box office, at least short-term.
Paula Vogel’s Indecent rose 40 percent to $378,000, as theatergoers rushed to the Cort Theatre before its Sunday, June 25, closing. The play won for direction and lighting design. One of several flops in a punishing season for plays, it was capitalized at $3.8 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Dear Evan Hansen, which won six Tonys, including best musical, has been sold out for months and posted $1.2 million, near its peak. And Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 had its top non-holiday week, of $1.3 million, after performing an exuberant number and winning for both scenic and lighting design of a musical.
A Doll’s House, Part 2 proved that its box office comeback is real, selling $530,000, little changed from the week before. Laurie Metcalf won for leading actress in a play. It has extended until January 7, 2018.
Editor: Alice Scovell
