It was good news and bad news last week on Broadway after Tony Awards nominations were announced.
George Clooney and his “Good Night and Good Luck” rose to its all time high, $4 million. That’s a record for plays. The $900 ticket is driving the huge numbers. Tony noms for Clooney and the play didn’t hurt.
Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal powered “Othello” to $3 million. That’s a little below its high from a month ago. Tickets there are also $900, but no Tony love maybe opened a fissure in the show’s strength. The show’s length — three hours — may be a slight turn off, too.
The revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross” stayed its course with $2.3 million. This is also a very expensive ticket. Not much love from the Tonys except for Bob Odenkirk as Featured Actor in a Play. The show is short, though, an hour and forty minutes, which keeps it aloft.
The bad news is, a lot of the new shows with mixed reviews saw drops last week even with a few Tony nods. The biggest shocks: “Gypsy” with Audra McDonald and “Sunset Blvd,” with Nicole Scherzinger, are not selling like it was imagined. Very surprising. They’re each at around 77% capacity.
The real shocker is “Stranger Things.” A prequel to the hit TV series, a hit in London, and full of dazzling special effects, the three hour spectacle was expected to be a monster. In fact, it features a must-see monster. Instead, “Stranger Things” is a bit in decline for the last two weeks. Last week it barely cleared $906,000. It’s also only playing to 77% capacity. Even with Tony voters getting free tickets, this is puzzling. It’s not doing any better than “Redwood,” which is closing this month.
The shows to keep an eye on: “Maybe Happy Ending” and “Purpose,” my two picks for Best Musical and Best Play. The two shows just received Drama Critics Circle awards, and “Purpose” scored the Pulitzer Prize. Also, “Operation Mincement,” nominated all over the place, is hilarious. I can’t wait to see them all again!
Prices are high, the big name shows notwithstanding. There is the $9 congestion fee. All of that didn’t seem to matter before Trump started pushing tariffs and recession. That accounts for the massive drop this past week. Out of town visitors may be staying away, especially Canadians.
Stay tuned…
