Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 12/07/2014

Final Week For Candice Bergen And Alan Alda

Love Letters has had a degree of difficulty at the box office since it began previews on September 13, 2014. One element that was difficult to navigate in terms of predicting sales trends was the unusual casting method of replacing one or both of the two characters in the play with a rotating cast of major stars.

Though this is how the play has been done traditionally, it is difficult to predict how much more one star will attract ticketbuyers than the next. It appears that the duo of Candice Bergen and Alan Alda was a winner. Though it took some time for word of mouth to spread, their last week saw a surefire increase in ticket sales.

The Best Week Yet For "Love Letters"

In the week ending December 7, 2014, Love Letters demonstrated the highest increase in ticket sales from the week before of any show, bringing in $100,682 more than last week’s gross of $309,103.

Though this gross of $409,785 was still only 52.48% of the gross potential, this is the highest week yet, almost tied with the week ending November 23, 2014 in which the same two actors played. The early pair of Mia Farrow and Brian Dennehy seemed to stir the least interest, although it is also possible that the show in general, independent of its stars, took time to gain some traction.

“This Is Our Youth” Struggling To Stay Alive

The Kenneth Lonergan scribed, Anna D. Shapiro helmed, revival of This Is Our Youth starring Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, and Tavi Gevinson is having a lot of trouble at the box office. In the week ending December 7, 2014, the show brought in its lowest gross yet: $262,663 across eight performances.

Since the show began previews on August 18, 2014, it has never made more than $421,840 in a week, which represents 54.34% of its gross potential. It has basically fluctuated around a mean gross of $300 to $350,000 per week, which is pretty dismal given the stature of the stars involved.

Very Little Star Power

However, though this play certainly has a boatload of indie cred, it has very little of the star power necessary to sell tickets on Broadway: that is, stars whose names resonate with the average Broadway ticket buyer, a 55 year-old woman.

These young actors, as well as the material they are acting, is more suited for the youth of New York City, not tourists or middle-aged adults. Unfortunately, these individuals do not generally consider Broadway in their purview or their price range, and the show is suffering for it. The show is slated to run until January 4, 2015; it will probably survive until then, but not in great financial shape.