Broadway B.O. holds steady

Long lasting tuner Mamma Mia! rose a little a the B.O.Nearly every Broadway show saw sales taper off a little a week ago, however the overall cume handled to uptick, thanks largely towards the latest addition towards the boards, "Follies." The tuner performed its first weeks time of eight perfs -- versus. the main one preview throughout performed the last frame -- and introduced in $725,062, playing to auds at near to 75% of capacity from the significant Marquis Theater. Individuals figures aren't whoppers, but they are certainly solid for any serious-minded tuner that did not confirm a Broadway run until a few several weeks ago. If all goes well, the ongoing preview period may help seed word-of-mouth within the next couple of days. Only a number of shows published gains a week ago, and none were particularly notable. "It of Mormon" ($1,289,948) broke its 15th house record in the O'Neill Theater, striking a typical ticket cost in excess of $147. Another of last season's spring tuners, "Priscilla Full from the Desert" ($674,867), also rose, whereas "Sister Act" ($700,644) dipped by about 9%. Play "Jerusalem" ($338,979) increased a little, thanks possibly to some jolt of last-minute biz just before its August. 21 closing. Consistent tourist-magnet "Mamma Mia!" ($878,148), soon to celebrate its tenth anniversary about the Primary Stem, also rose a little. Strong B.O. at this show might not hit the jaw-shedding levels of blockbuster emeritus "The Phantom from the Opera" ($986,477), however the Abba musical nevertheless appears to exhibit a similarly long lasting appeal. Otherwise, nearly all individual productions a week ago reported minor declines in an indication of the slight late-summer time fatigue that may sometimes hit Broadway. It's hardly a good enough recession to prompt concern -- couple of choices were ended up greater than a couple of percentage points, plus some wavered even under that. Generally, the frame's amounts remained as fairly robust, and appear sure to stay this way before publish-Labor Day slump. Overall cume rose by about $300,000 to $20.9 million for twenty-four shows about the boards. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com