Broadway box office took a hit last week due to the July 21 Times Square construction accident which closed down much of the area, including the Roundabout Theatre Company's productions of Side Man and Cabaret. Grosses were down $700,000 from last week's total of $11,002,191, the lost Roundabout shows accounting for much of the decrease. In the week ending July 19, Side Man and Cabaret took in $340,000.
The impact of the accident, however, was felt by nearly every show. Whereas in the week ending July 19, 19 out of 25 productions running displayed an upsurge in business, one week later, only 9 out of 23 productions boasted an increase. (The two shows no longer running were, of course, Cabaret and Side Man.) Attendance at reliably popular shows such as Rent and Chicago dipped slightly, while revenue at The Beauty Queen of Leenane was down 6.9 percent, and box office at High Society slipped 8.9 percent.
See complete, detailed figures on every show.
The play to show the biggest jump in monies was the one farthest away from the Times Square disaster, Lincoln Center's Twelfth Night, which saw a 15.9% increase in business.
The League of American Theatres and Producers did not return a phone call asking for comment on the figures. Side Man, as well as the Roundabout's Off-Broadway production of You Never Can Tell, are set to resume performances July 28. The latest word on Cabaret is that is will be closed for weeks. See related PBOL story.
-- By Robert Simonson
