The 16 performance run of the musical Les Misérables at the Winspear Opera House took in a whooping $3.1 million, topping the $2.3 million gross record that Mamma Mia! set back in 2006. Dallas was also the top-grossing date for the Les Misérables tour, beating out Denver by $300,000.
With Les Misérables, the AT&T Performing Arts Center has a trifecta of local revenue records, scoring the highest grossing one-man show and play (non-musical) in Dallas history, with Billy Crystal’s 700 Sundays and August: Osage County respectively.
Here’s a full release:
Les Misérables RUN AT WInSPEAR OPERA HOUSE SETS REVENUE RECORDS
Two Week Run Highest Grossing Musical in Dallas History
(DALLAS) The recent engagement of the 25th Anniversary Production of the Broadway musical Les Misérables at the Winspear Opera House has set the record as the most successful two-week Broadway run in Dallas history. The Dallas engagement at the AT&T Performing Arts Center also set the record as the most successful two-week run in the 26-year history of Les Misérables anywhere inNorth America.
“This clearly establishes that the Winspear Opera House is a premier venue for presenting Broadway in North Texas and theUnited States,” says Mark Weinstein, president and CEO for theAT&TPerformingArtsCenter.
The final ticket sales total for the 16 performance Les Misérables engagement was $3.1 million, well exceeding the previous Dallas Broadway record of $2.3 million set by Mamma Mia! during its two-week engagement at the Fair Park Music Hall in 2006. On a national scale, the Dallas engagement surpassed a 2011 Les Misérables engagement in Denver by nearly $300,000. Sales figures are according to industry trade organization The Broadway League.
Weinstein attributed the success to three key factors: “First, people love Les Miz like no other show in the world – we had some people in attendance who have seen it more than a dozen times,” said Weinstein. “Secondly, presenting the show over the holidays was perfect timing. The show’s themes of redemption, faith and salvation resonated perfectly. And finally, fans were eager to see their favorite show in our beautiful new Winspear Opera House where they could see every scene and hear every note sung like never before.”
Les Misérables builds on the Center’s recent record-breaking ticket sales success. During its inaugural Lexus Broadway Series season, Billy Crystal’s one-man show 700 Sundays became the highest grossing show of its kind in Dallas history, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County became the highest grossing play (non-musical) ever to play the market.
The next show in the Lexus Broadway Series is the Tony Award winning In The Heights from March 13-25. Green Day’s American Idiot will run from May 8-20. And this summer, the 2011-2012 season will end with the blockbuster Jersey Boys at the Winspear Opera House for a five-week engagement from June 12 to July 15. The Center also announced that its upcoming 2012-2013 season will include the Tony Award-winning War Horse.
