Broadway Grosses Analysis: Redwood Gets $200k Bump in Final Week on the Boards

Not a lot changed on Broadway least week—no surprise, Good Night, and Good Luck and Othello are still dominating the boards via pricey tickets, each handily in The $3 Million Club, the former very nearly back in The $4 Million Club. But the biggest bump compared to the week prior went to Redwood, the first production to close up shop after Tony Award nominations were announced. The musical, co-conceived by director Tina Landau and star Idina Menzel and written by Landau and Kate Diaz, was left empty-handed when nominations were revealed May 1, and soon thereafter announced an early closing for May 18.

Fans seemed to hurry over to the Nederlander for one last chance to see Tony winner Menzel in the show, lifting its sales to the tune of nearly $200,000. With tickets still averaging at $104.81 and seats just 85% full, the show failed to reach the highest gross of its run. It was still a huge boost for the show's final week on the Main Stem, and its highest take since March.

READ: 'Our Roots Will Connect Us for Miles and Miles'; Idina Menzel Responds to Redwood's Early Closing

Yet again, the charts have the (formerly) unusual distinction of being overwhelmingly led by non-musical plays—following Good Night and Othello in the number-three spot was fellow consistent high grosser Glengarry Glen Ross, with $2.4 million. Long-running family mainstays Wicked and The Lion King filled out the rest of the top five, with just The Lion King not exceeding $2 million. Conversely, Wicked and The Lion King top the list of the most attended shows on Broadway, as they do nearly every week. At the Gershwin, 15,408 people saw Wicked lat week, and 12,925 saw The Lion King at the Minskoff. Good Night is also getting help by the similarly large capacity Winter Garden, hosting 12,538 last week. But compare that to Othello, whose Ethel Barrymore Theatre welcomed just 8,344 theatregoers last week. When your tickets top out at $897 and audience members are paying on average $384 to see A-listers Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in the Shakespeare revival, volume isn't necessarily the main focus.

We've also been watching 2025 Best Musical Tony nominee Maybe Happy Ending continue a steady climb at the box office after starting its run last fall with several rocky weeks. The show was in The $1 Million Club for the second consecutive week last week, only the third time the production has achieved that distinction in its entire run, and second for a non-holiday week. Last week was also the musical's most attended, with seats at the Belasco 101% full (which indicates they went to standing room only). The show is not outgrossing fellow Best Musical nominees Buena Vista Social Club or Death Becomes Her, though, making this year's road to Best Musical an especially exciting one to watch. Does Maybe Happy Ending's steadily rising box office indicate an enthusiasm that will trump the overall grosses of its competitors? We'll find out June 8, when this year's Tony winners are named at Radio City Music Hall, with the ceremony broadcasting live on CBS and streaming via Paramount+.

Over the 40 currently running shows, Broadway brought in $44.35 million last week, an increase of nearly 2% compared to the week previous. It beat the same week last season by more than 20%, and the season so far is currently besting the same period from last year by 19.89%, with just one week left to go. As we've known for some time now, this season is sure to be a huge increase from the last, a hopeful sign of a long-awaited recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

Take a look at the full report here.

The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):