In case you thought the provinces might be less interested in The Producers than Broadway theatregoers, word comes this week from Cleveland that the national tour of the Mel Brooks musical has broken records at the Playhouse Square box office.

In its first week of a three-week Oct. 1-20 engagement at the Allen Theatre, The Producers broke Playhouse Square's box office gross record for an eight performance week.  The old record was held by the third week of Mamma Mia's three-week run at the comparably-sized State Theatre (July 30-Aug. 4 of this year). That week, Mamma Mia! sold 24,328 tickets for revenue of $1,126,762.

The first week of Producers (Oct. 1-6) sold 17,159 tickets for revenue of $1,198,513.50, thus setting a new record. That record was then broken by the second week, Oct. 8-13, when 18,698 tickets were sold, equaling $1,295,127 in box office gross. (Ticket prices are higher for the Brooks show.)

There is a high probability that the third week will break this record as well, a spokesperson for the tour said.

Playhouse Square is the nationally-recognized beehive of five venues in Cleveland, OH. For information about the The Producers on tour, visit www.producersontour.com.