QUICK TAKES - Jan. 27, 2009

London’s West End theaters defied a tide of economic gloom with record ticket sales in 2008, according to figures released Monday.

The Society of London Theatre, an industry group, said box office revenue for London’s 52 main commercial and government-subsidized theaters was more than $652 million in 2008, the highest figure ever and a 3% increase from the year before.

Attendance was 13.8 million, 1% more than in 2007.

The bulk of the tickets sold -- just over 9 million -- were for musicals, which included such popular shows as “Dirty Dancing,” “Billy Elliot,” “Hairspray” and “Wicked.”