Thursday, May 21, 2026

Bette Midler’s Week Off from “Hello, Dolly!” Caused Box Office Plunge Below $1 Million

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“Hello, Dolly!” is going to have a lot of trouble once Bette Midler leaves for good.

She took last week off and the box office plunged. Not just dropped, but plunged. The take for last week was just $879,369.10. The prior week, with Bette, was $2.3 million.

The drop was $1.48 million.

When I went by the box office last week I was offered seats all over the theater at prices from $99-$169. Bette’s top ticket was $206. I just can’t bring myself to pay that much. I couldn’t even stomach paying the lower price.

So I went to see Elizabeth McGovern in “Time and the Conways.” The ticket cost $79. Totally worth it, and the house was a quarter empty. I was able to move up a little in the orchestra. JB Priestley’s play is as contemporary as ever. The production is top notch. McGovern and the cast are excellent. Try and see it before the “Conways” closes.

 

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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