The League of American Theatres and Producers (League) reports year-to date upswings in both box office and attendance figures. League president Jed Bernstein suggests that several things helped influenced the promising trend on Broadway at mid-season.

"Broadway's strength this season is due to a number of factors,” Bernstein said in a prepared statement. “In addition to a strong crop of new shows, the ongoing appeal of holdover hits from years past—combined with the growing realization that nothing beats quality live entertainment—has meant that Broadway continues to raise its public profile."

The League’s routine mid-year assessment of box office grosses and attendance indicates that:

• Thus far in the 2000-2001 season, gross box receipts are running $321,952,050 with attendance at 5,778,478. These figures are based on the current cumulative work weeks (698) for all reporting shows.

• Based on these figures, the growth rate for Broadway at mid-season shows an 19.8 percent rise over the same time last season in box office receipts with an 11.3 percent rise in attendance. There was an estimated 6.08 percent increase in the cumulative work weeks. • Over the past two years, the growth in box office grosses stands at 18.93 percent and the attendance increase is at 8.49 percent. There was an estimated 8.05 percent increase in cumulative work weeks over the past two years as well.

Last year at mid-season, the 1999-2000 New York box office gross was $268,806,160 up from $268.2 million over the same period in 1998-1999. New York’s mid-season attendance in 1999-2000 was at 5,191,566 just below the 5.3 million reported for mid-season in 1998-1999.

— By Murdoch McBride