Broadway keeps faith

Contrary to previous years, Broadway enjoyed a boost as "The Book of Mormon" rang in the Jewish New Year with another record-breaking week. Remember when the Jewish holidays used to mean a dip in Broadway sales? Not this year. Although Rosh Hoshanah fell on Thursday, overall Rialto sales upticked, with devoted auds still turning out for another record-breaking week at "The Book of Mormon" and a crowd of converts keeping "Follies" above the $1 million mark. The week's total, up about $275,000 to $18.7 million for 22 shows running, had some observers wondering if the traditional dip for the Jewish holidays was more a product of when the holiday fell during the month -- early September always being harder for Broadway overall than late -- than of the holiday itself. Or maybe sales were kept aloft in part by family auds freed up by school closings. "Mormon" ($1,310,226), topping yet another box office milestone at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, and "Follies" ($1,132,226) were two of six shows to stake out a spot in the millionaires club last week. In general, most of the Street's top earners saw sales rise while those in the middle of the pack -- including "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" ($765,738) and "Memphis" ($722,193) -- dipped, although none of the slowdowns by individual shows were dramatic. Among plays now in previews, "Relatively Speaking" ($664,407) -- the trio of one-acts by Woody Allen, Ethan Coen and Elaine May -- slipped by about $50,000, perhaps because the curiosity factor pushed some theatergoers to earlier previews. "The Mountaintop" ($584,897) played a full eight perfs vs. five the prior frame, posting solid if not stellar sales for a show starring big-name thesps Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson. As is the case with most Broadway plays, both shows, as well as the Roundabout's nonprofit revival of "Man and Boy" ($216,636), hope for a boost from reviews, since playgoing auds remain the rare demo to be notably swayed by critical opinion. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

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