Call it the Hamilton effect or just supply and demand.
Producers of Waitress have raised the top ticket to $600 with pop stars Sara Bareilles and Jason Mraz in the leading roles. That’s the priciest seat for a star-driven musical on Broadway today, after Hello, Dolly! slashed prices when Bernadette Peters replaced Bette Midler as the matchmaker Dolly Levi.
With Bareilles back onstage after a stint last spring, Waitress weekly grosses spiked 51 percent to $1.6 million. It was by far the musical’s best seven days since it opened in 2016. That’s impressive given that frigid weather contributed to Broadway’s worst week in almost three months.
The show’s pricing is particularly dynamic. This week, as of late Monday, top tickets are $452 for Tuesday night (with eighth-row center for $229), $352 for Wednesday’s matinee, $552 on Thursday night, $600 for Friday night and both shows Saturday, $552 for Sunday’s matinee and $452 Sunday night.
Bareilles, who wrote the songs, plays Jenna, a waitress-baker in a loveless marriage, through Feb. 25. Mraz is her gynecologist and love interest, through Feb. 11. The musical is based on the 2007 movie written and directed by Adrienne Shelly. The stage version is produced by Barry and Fran Weissler and Norton and Elayne Herrick and directed by Diane Paulus.
Waitress had an average ticket of $186 last week. Only Hamilton (with a top ticket of $849) and Springsteen on Broadway (a top ticket of $850) were pricier.
