This fall’s new batch of original musicals and musical revivals on Broadway continues to struggle at the box office. The new musical comedy “Honeymoon in Vegas” had lukewarm ticket sales for its first set of preview performances last week, according to audience data for Broadway shows released on Monday. The musical, adapted from a 1992 movie and starring Rob McClure (Broadway’s “Chaplin”) and the television veteran Tony Danza in the roles earlier played by Nicolas Cage and James Caan, grossed $366,136 for seven performances, or 37 percent of the maximum possible amount, with about two-thirds of the seats filled.
“Honeymoon in Vegas” is the final musical entry of Broadway’s fall theater season to begin performances. The other new musical of the fall that is still running, “The Last Ship,” continued to be a modest seller last week, grossing $497,208 (or 40 percent of the maximum amount). “The Last Ship” producers, who have been losing an average of $75,000 a week since performances began, have announced that Sting – the show’s composer – will join the cast of the production on Dec. 9 for four weeks in hopes of aiding ticket sales.
Two musical revivals have also opened this fall, and both have been slow sellers. “Side Show,” which opened last week to positive reviews, grossed $419,203, or 41 percent of the maximum possible amount; a spokesman for the show said a high number of complimentary tickets given for opening night and to theater journalists helped depress the gross. The other revival, “On the Town,” which opened in October and also received strong reviews, grossed $795,604, or 44 percent of the maximum amount.
Over all, Broadway musicals and plays grossed $26.7 million last week, compared to $23.4 million for the same week last season. Attendance was 262,452 for 36 productions, compared to 233,393 for 32 productions last year.