In the aftermath of the World Trade Center tragedy, Broadway plays have been suffering at the box office due to the tremendous downfall of tourism to New York, lack of access into the city, and just the general fear for people to go out into public arenas.
Numerous plays have been cancelled since the Sept. 11 attack and a play has even decided not to open on the Great White Way. Box office was down $6 million in the past week, and now Broadway actors, stagehands and musicians have agreed to a temporary four-week pay cut of 25 percent. The goal is to save some long-running musicals that are in jeopardy of posting closing notices, including "Les Miserables," which was down $245,000 from the previous week; "The Phantom of the Opera" (down $304,000), "Chicago" (down $268,000), "Rent" (down $202,000) and "The Full Monty" (down 377,000).
"Stones in His Pockets," "A Thousand Clowns," "If You Ever Leave Me, I'm Going With You" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" have posted closing notices. The run of "By Jeeves" has been canceled while the opening of "Assassins" has been postponed due to the subject matter of the play.
"Phantom of the Opera," "Les Miserables," "Rent," "The Music Man," "Chicago" and "Kiss Me Kate" are vulnerable and could post closing notices any time.
