RAGTIME and CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL Reach Broadway Box Office Highs

Broadway enjoyed a strong midsummer surge during the week ending 26 July, with RAGTIME, CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL and JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE each recording the highest weekly gross of their respective runs.

The 30 productions currently playing generated a combined US$34.86 million, an increase of 12.5 per cent from the previous week. Attendance climbed almost 7 per cent to 273,061 as summer visitors filled theatres across New York.

Leading the record breakers was Lincoln Center Theater’s acclaimed revival of RAGTIME, which earned US$1,625,400 across eight performances at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

The result broke the production’s previous house record and became the highest weekly gross in Lincoln Center Theater history. Every available seat was filled, while the average ticket price reached US$192.95, the second highest on Broadway for the week behind HAMILTON.

The four-time Tony Award-winning revival has maintained considerable momentum since winning Best Revival of a Musical, with leading performers Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy also taking home acting honours at this year’s ceremony.

RAGTIME follows three families navigating race, immigration, wealth and the pursuit of the American dream at the beginning of the 20th century. After several extensions, the limited engagement is scheduled to play its final performance on 16 August.

CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL also experienced a dramatic box office rebound as audiences rushed to see the production before its announced closure.

The boldly reimagined revival earned US$1,189,431, its best weekly result to date and a significant increase from the previous week’s US$823,972. Attendance reached 101 per cent of the Broadhurst Theatre’s listed capacity, with 9,399 people attending across eight performances. Its average ticket price rose to US$126.55.

The resurgence follows the surprise announcement that the musical will close on 8 August, only four months after its Broadway opening.

Directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL transforms Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical into a ballroom competition inspired by New York’s queer and trans ballroom community. The production won three Tony Awards, including Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography, but struggled to sustain the revenue required to support its reported US$18 million investment and substantial weekly operating costs.

The closing notice appears to have created a renewed sense of urgency among ticket buyers, lifting the production from US$691,071 during the week ending 5 July to almost US$1.2 million three weeks later. Despite the late increase, its final performance remains scheduled for Saturday, 8 August.

August Wilson’s JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE finished its limited engagement on another notable high.

The revival grossed US$1,183,148 during its final eight performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. It played to 99 per cent capacity, welcomed 8,319 audience members and achieved an average ticket price of US$142.22.

Starring Taraji P. Henson, Cedric the Entertainer, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Joshua Boone, the production played its final Broadway performance on 26 July after receiving two extensions.

Broadway’s long-running blockbusters continued to dominate the top of the weekly chart.

THE LION KING was the highest-grossing production, earning US$2,428,755 across nine performances at the Minskoff Theatre. HAMILTON followed with US$2,341,119, while the Tony-winning revival of DEATH OF A SALESMAN brought in US$2,234,252 from seven performances.

MJ earned US$1,933,319 and played to full capacity at the Neil Simon Theatre, while HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD completed the top five with US$1,887,297.

Other productions crossing the US$1 million threshold included RAGTIME, THE LOST BOYS, WICKED, ALADDIN, SCHMIGADOON!, CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL, JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE, OH, MARY!, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL and THE OUTSIDERS.

The week’s results underline the power of scarcity at the Broadway box office. While established family attractions continued to command the largest overall audiences, three limited or closing productions achieved personal bests as the opportunity to see them narrowed.

For CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL in particular, the sudden upswing provides a bittersweet conclusion. The production is finally attracting the weekly sales that might once have strengthened its future, but only after its final date has been set. RAGTIME, meanwhile, enters its last weeks as one of Broadway’s clearest critical and commercial success stories of the season.