Near-record year for Broadway

Hit hard in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Broadway climbed steadily out of its slump to draw near-record numbers in 2002, targeting local audiences rather than tourists and pulling more first-time patrons, according to figures released this week.

A hip-hop poetry jam, a dance show set to musical hits by pop artist Billy Joel and a growing number of television and movie stars helped entice a younger, more ethnically diverse audience, said the League of American Theaters and Producers.

Attendance closed 2002 with 11.41 million theatergoers, compared with 11.39 million in 2001 and 12.01 million in 2000, the group said. Forty-six shows opened, the most in a decade, including the most musicals, 13, since 1992, it said.