STAGE

The 1987-88 Broadway season that ended May 29 set an all-time record of $253 million in ticket sales to more than 8.1 million theater-goers, an increase of 21% over the last season’s gross, the League of American Theatres and Producers announced Wednesday. With the $223 million taken in by Broadway touring companies in the United States and Canada, the overall take for Broadway shows was $476 million, which would give them 493rd ranking in the Fortune 500 corporations, if they were considered a single firm. A lineup of blockbuster musicals from past seasons plus the sold-out new hits, “Phantom of the Opera,” “Anything Goes,” and “Sarafina” were generally credited with setting the box-office record. The league reported the average paid admission as $31.10, up 4% from $29.86 last season.