Convention is no help to Broadway

Broadway’s box office suffered during the first half of this week, probably because of causes related to the Republican National Convention, said Jed Bernstein, president of the League of American Theatres and Producers, which represents Broadway producers.

Streets south of the Broadway theater district were closed because of security measures for the convention, which might have discouraged attendance, Bernstein said. There were convention-related protests in the area Sunday.

A spokesman for “Hairspray” said attendance at the Tony-winning musical’s Broadway run was down 15% to 20% Tuesday through Thursday, compared to the same days last week, but he said this Labor Day weekend might be a factor in the drop, as well as the convention.

In addition to drops in the regular box-office figures, the number of same-day discounted tickets sold at Broadway’s TKTS booth was down by more than 50% Tuesday.

Until this week, Broadway business had been outpacing last summer’s figures, Bernstein said. The weekly report on Broadway attendance is expected on Tuesday.

Don Shirley