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Broadway attendance drops as kids return to school

With summer vacation coming to a close and students gearing up for another school year, Broadway’s attendance dipped last week. For the week ending Aug. 28, the 21 shows on Broadway grossed $23,513,592, up 6% from last week. Capacity was at nearly 86%, about a 4% decrease compared to last week.

Elizabeth Teeter and Adam Dannheisser in 'Beetlejuice' (Photo by: Matthew Murphy).

With summer vacation coming to a close and students gearing up for another school year, Broadway’s attendance dipped last week.

For the week ending Aug. 28, the 21 shows on Broadway grossed $23,513,592, up 6% from last week. Capacity was at nearly 86%, about a 4% decrease compared to last week.

Notably, every show on Broadway save for three saw decreases in attendance, including a handful of family-friendly musicals like “Aladdin” (down 14%), “Beetlejuice” (down 10%) and “Wicked” (down 8%).

Only two shows played to 100% capacity last week: “Dear Evan Hansen” and “MJ.”

The top three highest-grossing productions were “The Music Man,” “Hamilton” and “The Lion King.”

Back from a planned hiatus, “The Music Man” grossed more than $2.7 million and played to about 94% capacity.

“Dear Evan Hansen” grossed more than $1 million for the first time since the week ending Jan. 2, 2022. Closing in on its final weeks, the musical earned $1,040,947, up 44% from last week, and played to over 100% capacity, up 33%.

Also closing in on the last weeks of its run is “Mr. Saturday Night,” which saw significant increases in both gross and attendance. The Billy Crystal-led musical grossed $862,889, up 17%, and played to 89% capacity, up 16%.

On the heels of its highest-grossing week yet, “Into the Woods” saw a 22% decrease at the box office, earning just over $1.6 million. The original Broadway revival cast will play its final performance on Sept. 4 before a handful of cast changes occur beginning Sept. 6.

Tony Award-winning “A Strange Loop” also saw decreases at the box office last week. In its lowest-grossing week since May, the new musical earned $578,170, down 9%, and played to 81% capacity, down 8%.