Even with a Jonas, How to Succeed has box-office drop

ArtsBeat reports: After 11 months of strong ticket sales, the box-office receipts for the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying fell sharply last week as the actor and musician Nick Jonas took over the starring role of the corporate schemer J. Pierrepont Finch.

According to data released yesterday by the Broadway League, the gross of $682,879 for the standard eight performances was the lowest amount for How to Succeed since early preview performances last March.

How to Succeed took in around $1 million a week for much of 2011, when Daniel Radcliffe played Finch, peaking at $1.9 million recently in his final week between Christmas and New Year’s. The grosses then exceeded $1.3 million during each of the three weeks this month when Darren Criss (Glee) briefly filled the role. Mr. Criss’s solid sales were due in part to the laws of supply and demand, given his limited stint; Mr. Jonas is due to play Finch through July 1.

Late January is also one of the slowest periods for ticket sales; over all, Broadway musicals and plays grossed $17.4 million last week, compared to $19.3 million the week before.

Among the best performers last week was The Book of Mormon, which grossed $1,445,407 – second only to the gross of $1.5 million for Wicked, which is often the biggest draw on Broadway.

The new Broadway production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, meanwhile, had its most lucrative box-office revenues last week since performances began in December. Porgy and Bess, which opened to generally favorable reviews on Jan. 12, grossed $921,404, compared to $878,884 for the previous week.