Broadway Grosses: Paint it Purple

The Color Purple got a helping hand from producer Oprah Winfrey when the show's entire cast was featured on an episode of Winfrey's daytime show, Oprah, on November 11. Because of the trip to Chicago to film the appearance, the show played only six preview performances, but it still stayed strong at the box office. The new musical filled the large Broadway Theatre to 82.2% capacity, up 10.7% from its first week of previews. The tuner, based on the Alice Walker novel and film of the same name, also netted a substantial $499,572 in those six previews.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending November 13:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,318,294
2. The Lion King $1,115,783
3. Spamalot $1,073,396
4. Mamma Mia! $981,278
5. The Odd Couple $867,187

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. In My Life $182,700
4. Absurd Person Singular $178,702
3. Seascape $149,584*
2. Souvenir $98,180**
1. Latinologues $86,739

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Spamalot 101.76%
2. The Odd Couple 101.11%**
3. Mamma Mia! 100.90%
4. Wicked 100%
5. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 99.10%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. Fiddler on the Roof 69.25%
4. Absurd Person Singular 65.83%
3. In My Life 48.43%
2. Latinologues 45.75%
1. Souvenir 41.76%**

*Number based on eight preview performances.

**Number based on three preview performances and five regular performances.

Data provided by The League of American Theatres and Producers.