Tony Awards success boosts Broadway takings

Kinky Boots was the big winner at this year's Tonys, bagging six awards

Eleven Broadway shows have enjoyed their most profitable week to date with some earning more then $1m (£640,000) following success at the Tony Awards.

The circus-themed revival of Pippin, which picked up four Tony awards, broke the $1m barrier for the first time.

Takings went from $931,349 (£596,104) in the week before the Tonys to $1,009,392 (£646,055) last week.

Kinky Boots, which took home six Tony awards, earned $1,474,349 (£943,741) - its highest figures so far.

Matilda the Musical, which lost out for the best musical Tony to Kinky Boots, made $1,184,104 (£757,953) over its eight performances up until Sunday, to break the house record at the Shubert Theatre, according to figures from the Broadway League.

Despite losing out on the most coveted Tony, the British import - based on the Roald Dahl story - benefitted from cast members performing a Michael Jackson medley near the beginning of the awards show.

Tourism boost

Other shows to push the $1m barrier included Motown the Musical. It also enjoyed its best numbers ever, earning $1,441,448 (£922,778) to set a new box office record at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

Another revival, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella added $171,107 (£109,538) to boost its total tally to $1,059,352 (£678,170).

According to Variety magazine, an additional number of tourists to New York City last week brought overall Rialto attendance up to 227,831 while average ticket prices were $108 (£69).

The majority of more than 25 shows playing increased their box-office takings, with the exception of Ann, Macbeth, Once, The Book of Mormon and Jersey Boys, though their losses were relatively small.

At the top of the list of shows, The Lion King pulled in another $82,492 (£33,804) across the week to boost its tickets sales to $1,951,428 (£1,249,370), followed by Wicked which made $1,849,045 (£1,183,821) - a rise of $78,538 (£50,282) on the previous week.

As for plays, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike added almost $100,000 following its Tony for best new play, bringing its total to $654,304 (£418,907), while Tom Hanks' Lucky Guy made $6,000 more to earn $1,367,394 (£875,517), partly due tickets selling for $348 (£223).

Bette Midler's show, I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers, made $854,203 (£546,876) despite not winning a Tony and playing at one of Broadway's smallest venues, the Booth theatre.