The current Broadway cast of ‘Dear Evan Hansen.’ (Photo: Nathan Johnson)
The holidays mean big revenue for two Broadway shows, which are shattering box office records.
The acclaimed Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler celebrated box office records for both the Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street) and The Shubert Organization over the Thanksgiving weekend. The final gross of $2,468,174.59, over eight performances, marks the eighth time Hello, Dolly! has broken The Shubert Organization’s all-time record and the tenth time the show has set the box office record at the Shubert Theatre. Additionally, the production holds the record for the largest pre-performance advance sale in Broadway history.
There are less than 50 performances left in Ms. Midler’s Tony Award-winning run at the Shubert Theatre. Starting Saturday evening, January 20, two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters, who has been called a “theatre goddess” by The Washington Post, will take on the title role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, in one of the most successful and beloved productions of the year.
Dear Evan Hansen has again broken the house record at the Music Box Theatre, grossing $1,950,120.78 the week of November 21, which also marked Noah Galvin’s first week in the title role. The Tony Award-winning musical also set the record for the highest gross in Broadway history for a theater of fewer than 1000-seats, breaking their own record from the week of July 9, 2017 (the Music Box Theater seats 984).
Noah Galvin in ‘Dear Evan Hansen.’ (Photo: Nathan Johnson)
The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson, a score by Academy Award and Tony-winning composers Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, and direction by 4-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif. The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen, produced by Atlantic Records, was released in February 2017, making an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200 and entering the chart at #8 – the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961. A special edition coffee table book from Pasek, Paul, and Levenson, DearEvan Hansen: through the window (Grand Central Publishing / Melcher) is now available, offering an in-depth, all-access look at the musical, including never-before-seen production photos and cast portraits, behind-the-scenes stories, and a fully annotated script by the authors.
Declared “One of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history” by the Washington Post’s Peter Marks, Dear Evan Hansen opened to critical acclaim at the Music Box Theatre to rave reviews on December 4, 2016. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it “Funny, touching and vital – a game-changer that hits you like a shot in the heart,” and the New York Times’ Ben Brantley proclaimed it “A gorgeous musical for anyone with a beating heart.”
In addition to winning six Tony awards, Dear Evan Hansen has won numerous other awards, including the 2017 Drama League Award for Outstanding Musical Production and for the off-Broadway production, two Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Helen Hayes Awards.
