Broadway Grosses: Rent Skyrockets; Hairspray On Top

The oldies were definitely goodies this past week: Sparked by the return of original stars Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, Rent did sellout business at the Nederlander Theatre, cracking the top five in capacity. At the top of the list: Hairspray, still riding high on the success of the big-screen adaptation. Six musicals grossed more than $1 million, including Legally Blonde, which paradoxically ended up in the bottom five in capacity at 87.06%, demonstrating how full Broadway theaters were across the board. The big show in previews, Grease, played to 99.31% in its second week of previews at the Brooks Atkinson.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending August 5:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,489,919
2. The Lion King $1,324,689
3. Mary Poppins $1,222,675
4. Jersey Boys $1,211,816
5. The Color Purple $1,044,382

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. Xanadu $356,753
4. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee $281,847
3. Deuce $180,315
2. The Year of Magical Thinking $169,891*
1. Old Acquaintance $159,121

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Hairspray 101.15%
2. Mamma Mia! 100.82%
3. Jersey Boys 100.76%
3. Mary Poppins 100.76%
3. Rent 100.76%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. Legally Blonde 87.06%
4. The Drowsy Chaperone 71.84%
3. Old Acquaintance 64%
2. The Year of Magical Thinking 55.75%*
1. Deuce 43.51%

*Number based on 7 regular performances
Data provided by League of American Theatres and Producers.