Broadway's enduring musical revival of Chicago has received a significant boost at the box office, thanks to its latest celebrity stunt-casting move: Whitney Leavitt, now starring as Roxie Hart, has propelled the John Kander-Fred Ebb classic to a remarkable $1,410,093 gross last week, marking its highest take since the lucrative December holidays of 2023. This achievement comes as Chicago approaches its 29th year at the Ambassador Theatre, solidifying its status as Broadway's longest-running American musical. Leavitt, a former Dancing With The Stars contestant, joined the production on February 2 and will continue her run until March 15. The producers, Barry and Fran Weissler, have a history of casting crossover celebrities to maintain the show's freshness and audience interest, including notable names like Ariana Madix, Pamela Anderson, Brandy, Christie Brinkley, and NeNe Leakes. However, Leavitt's presence has proven to be a particularly strong draw, with the $1.4M gross for the week ending February 15 being approximately twice the amount of every other non-holiday week this year. While last week was indeed a holiday week, with the Presidents Day weekend attracting long-weekend visitors and Broadway's special two-for-one Broadway Week promotion in its final week, the show's performance still outshone even the Christmas and New Year holidays of this year. Chicago's attendance of 8,565, filling 99% of its capacity, was its best this year. Other shows also benefited from the strong holiday week, with most productions showing increased box office revenue. The top earners for the week included Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($2,682,872), Hamilton ($2,198,060), Wicked ($2,024,329), The Lion King ($1,918,748), and Chess ($1,588,042). Marjorie Prime, in its final week of performance, saw a $49,627 increase to $405,194, filling 95% of seats at the Hayes. Overall, the 27 productions grossed $33,578,362 for the week ending February 15, an 11.3% jump from the previous week and 19% over the same period last year. Broadway's season-to-date gross stands at $1,394,123,670, an 8% increase over the previous year, with a total attendance of 10,416,208, up 3%. These figures highlight the continued success and popularity of Broadway shows, despite the challenges of the pandemic and economic fluctuations.
