Broadway: Tom Hiddleston In ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ Starts Off Strong

Much Ado About Nothing, starring Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell, held its first preview performance last week and played to 100 percent capacity, with the second highest average ticket price on Broadway last week at $238.

The Jamie Lloyd revival, which transferred to Broadway from London, brought in $358,262 in that one performance, and if ticket prices hold, the play could be one of the industry’s highest weekly grossers. The play opens Nov. 19 at the Winter Garden Theatre.

Other Desert Cities was the week’s highest earner with $2.35 million and the week’s highest average ticket price of $301, which is the highest yet for the play starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Allison Janney and Joe Keery.

Hamilton was the second highest earner with $2.31 million, followed by Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with $1.63 million, MJ with $1.61 million and The Lion King with $1.56 million. Billy Crystal’s solo show, 860, was the sixth highest-grossing, with $1.35 million, despite three heavily comped press performances.

A Few Good Men, starring Bradley Whitford and Tom Blyth, opened on Broadway last week and brought in close to $1.3 million, despite a fully comped opening night as well as several comped press tickets in the leadup. The play, which opened to mixed reviews, played to 100 percent capacity last week.

Despite the addition of a new show to the lineup, Broadway grosses were down 13 percent and attendance down 4 percent, as the industry competed with Halloween and the New York City Marathon.

New play Downstate saw a slight drop in attendance in its second week on Broadway, down to 87 percent from 94 percent as it expanded to eight performances from six. The play brought in $275,085, ahead of its Nov. 15 opening.

New musical Wanted also saw a drop in attendance, down to 82 percent from 93 percent, with grosses falling to $508,919. The musical is scheduled to open Nov. 8.