Broadway Grosses: Lithgow's Absence Causes Dirty Rotten Dip

Last week Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which was without star John Lithgow who is out because of a scheduled vacation, took a big hit. It was down $184,884 from the previous week to come in at $636,390. That number isn't shabby--it still places the show within the top 10 in terms of gross--but it is a significant drop from the business the show was doing when all the leads were performing.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending August 14:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,314,515
2. The Lion King $1,215,631
3. Spamalot $1,021,106
4. Mamma Mia! $969,301
5. The Phantom of the Opera $829,956

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. Lennon $318,098*
4. Primo $291,594
3. The Constant Wife $285,894
2. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? $171,676**
1. Jackie Mason: Freshly Squeezed $88,558

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 103.47%
2. Spamalot 101.73%
3. The Lion King 101.11%
4. The Phantom of the Opera 100.30%
5. Wicked 100%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. All Shook Up 60.42%
4. Fiddler on the Roof 58.99%
3. Lennon 50.34%*
2. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 46.09%**
1. Jackie Mason: Freshly Squeezed 44.50%

*Number based on seven previews and one regular performance.
**Number based on seven regular performances.

Data provided by The League of American Theatres and Producers.