Broadway Grosses: Bye-Bye, Spelling Bee

Broadway producers have settled in to wait out the winter, with only the top six shows topping 85 percent of capacity last week, including the departing 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which went out strong with grosses $65,000 more than the previous week. After announcing a June 1 closing date, Rent saw its grosses jump almost $70,000, and Legally Blonde grossed $130,000 more than the previous week. Disney's three musicals, including newcomer The Little Mermaid, held strong. But for the most part, shows shuffled along playing to less than packed houses, opening the way for theater lovers to warm up their January by seeing a play or musical on Broadway.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending January 20:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,371,768
2. Jersey Boys $1,157,164
3. The Lion King $1,050,324
4. The Little Mermaid $950,655
5. Mary Poppins $896,735

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. A Bronx Tale $268,671
4. Is He Dead? $232,254
3. Xanadu $218,989
2. The 39 Steps $206,358
1. Come Back, Little Sheba $150,571*

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Jersey Boys 100.33%
2. Wicked 95.96%
3. The Little Mermaid 91.71%
4. The Lion King 89.96%
5. Spamalot 87.97%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. The Color Purple 62.40%
4. The Farnsworth Invention 60.15%
3. Come Back, Little Sheba 57.83%*
2. A Bronx Tale 56.96%
1. The Homecoming 53.07%

* Number based on 8 preview performances
Data provided by the League of American Theatres and Producers.