Show business magazine Variety reports that the $12.5 million worth of Broadway tickets sold for Thanksgiving weekend 1997 represents the second-largest weekly gross in Broadway history.
The highest was $13.9 million on Christmas week of 1996, when Broadway was powered by a sold-out 15-performance week of David Copperfield's Dreams and Nightmares. But Variety predicted that 1997 could see "one of the most successful yuletide seasons ever." The 23 musicals currently on the boards is the most running simultaneously in modern times. Higher average ticket prices also have contributed to the pace.
Playbill On-Line posts box office figures every week.
The latest figures cover the week of Nov. 23-30, which includes the near-record grosses. Check them out by searching on Broadway Grosses in Theatre News.
-- By Robert Viagas
