Broadway Grosses: Waitress Bakes Up Piping Hot Numbers for First Preview Performances

The new musical Waitress began Broadway performances on March 25, and its numbers are already good enough to eat. The tuner, written by Sara Bareilles and starring Jessie Mueller, played to a capacity of 101.15% in its first three previews, grossing an impressive 111.38% of its potential. Audiences on the first night, who were extra eager to get the first bite, broke the house record at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre for a single performance. Meanwhile, several family-friendly shows had high weeks as schools entered spring break, including three perennial favorites that each added an extra performance, plus School of Rock and Matilda.

Here’s a look at who was on top—and who was not—for the week ending March 27:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. The Lion King ($2,629,844)*
2. Wicked ($2,532,613)*
3. Aladdin ($2,127,857)*
4. Hamilton ($1,719,570)
5. The Book of Mormon ($1,414,631)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. American Psycho ($365,186)****
4. Shuffle Along ($358,845)*****
3. Eclipsed ($318,920)
2. Hughie ($278,658)
1. The Father ($163,744)***

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Book of Mormon (102.61%)
2. Hamilton (101.77%)
3. School of Rock (101.42%)
4. Waitress (101.15%)*****
5. The Crucible (100.24%)**

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. Hughie (74.21%)
4. On Your Feet! (73.85%)
3. The Father (68.00%)***
2. Eclipsed (62.76%)
1. Disaster! (61.54%)

*Number based on nine regular performances
**Number based on eight preview performances
***Number based on seven preview performances
****Number based on four preview performances
*****Number based on three preview performances

Source: The Broadway League