Broadway ticket sales set a record during 1991-92, climbing to nearly $292 million in a season that began in the doldrums but ended in a burst of shows, the League of American Theaters and Producers said Wednesday.
But yearly attendance figures were only slightly higher - with 7.35 million people seeing a Broadway show during the 1991-92 season, compared with 7.16 million the previous year.The average ticket price, including discounts, rose to $39.71, up from $36.47 in 1990-91.
The previous record for ticket sales was $283 million, reached in the 1989-90 season.
The number of productions rose during 1991-92 to 37, highest in five years. Twenty-one shows opened between February and April. By contrast, the entire 1990-91 season offered 28 productions that had ticket sales of $266.8 million.
"There's been a remarkable turnaround," said George Wachtel, director of research for the league.
"The figures were achieved without the benefit of a British megamusical, and they were achieved during a period of severe recession in the city and in the country," said Harvey Sabinson, the league's president.
Yet the first half of the season was sparse, remembered mostly for this year's Tony winner, "Dancing at Lughnasa," and "Nick & Nora," the season's most publicized musical flop.
Business rebounded after the first of the year, with the arrival of stars like Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, Alec Baldwin, Jessica Lange, Alan Alda, Judd Hirsch, Rob Lowe, Raul Julia and Sheena Easton. Two big musical hits also opened - "Crazy for You," the Gershwin musical, and the smash revival of "Guys and Dolls."
Nearly 1 million more people saw a Broadway show during the second half of the season than in the first.
What helped was the skyrocketing attendance during March, April and May - 2.34 million tickets sold, compared with 1.9 million for the same three-month period last year.
Wachtel said attendance figures have remained stable since then, indicating that many productions will continue to run.
Touring companies, traveling to more than 85 markets in North America, also had a good year. Ticket sales were more than $503 million, a record, up 12 percent from last year's $449 million. Much of the increase can be attributed to the potent box office business done by various companies of two big British musicals - "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Miserables."