B’WAY BOOM ALL PLAYED OUT
Broadway’s boom has gone bust.
After 10 years of record-breaking gains, Broadway attendance and box-office receipts declined during the 2001-’02 season.
The gross for the entire season hit $642,545,026, off $22.87 million (3.45 percent) from the previous season.
Attendance dropped 1 million from last season to 10,958,432, the first time attendance has dipped below 11 million since 1995-96.
Producers say the theater industry is still reeling from the effects of the attack on the World Trade Center, which triggered a steep decline in tourism, along with the worldwide economic recession.
Another problem is the lack of must-see shows this season.
Only one musical – “Mamma Mia!” – is a genuine smash (it recouped its $10 million production cost this week), but even that is not generating the kind of excitement “The Producers” and “The Full Monty” created last season.

