Theater District businesses feel pinch as Broadway shows close
By amNewYork staff
A slew of Broadway show closings in January have Theater Row businesses worried that their sales will fall with the curtains.
“Everybody is scared,” said Alex Dudgeon, manager of Broadway New York, a chain of memorabilia stores in Times Square.
The Junior’s on West 44th Street has eliminated five servers from its daily rotation since “Spamalot” closed at a neighboring theater earlier this month, said waiter Benjamin Velez.
“December was good, but now it’s really slow,” Velez said.
More than a dozen plays and musicals scheduled their last performances for January, one of the worst months since the stagehand union went on strike in 2007. Nearly half of all Broadway theaters will close their shows, including crowd-pleasers like “Grease” and “Spamalot,” and newer productions such as “13,” which did not sell to expectations.
"Grease" closed last week
On Sunday, the casts of “All My Sons,” “Gypsy” and “Spamalot” took their last bows — but not without adoring crowds.
“The show is exceptional, but the economy can’t carry it anymore,” said Neil Kirsch, a Long Island theater buff who queued up to see his 51st performance of “Gypsy” yesterday.
About 12 million people bought Broadway show tickets last year, with attendance flat compared to 2007 rates, according to figures from the Broadway League, a national trade associated Area business owners said the January finales brought small surges in traffic.
A crowd of 50 women flocked to Sardi’s restaurant last week to dine and snap pictures with a caricature of Clay Aiken, the outgoing “Spamalot” star, said maitre d’ Ivan Lesica.
Still, even legendary Sardi’s has lost customers this month, especially in the evening hours after shows let out, Lesica said. Last week, the West 44th Street restaurant swapped its usual supper menu of $22 entrées with a more affordable selection of “light fare.”
“(The drop) happens every year at this time, but not as much as now,” Lesica said.
For January, the Times Square Alliance has organized a “Taste Bud Stimulus Package,” a series of promotions at 30 member restaurants. And some Theater Row establishments have pushed their own budget menus to help prevent precipitous declines.
When “Grease” closed earlier this month at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, the lines for neighboring Trattoria Trecolori went with it, said waiter Mark Johnston, 50. But they’ve managed to attract customers with $14 pasta deals.
“We’re going to suffer, but not like some of the others around here,” Johnston said.
But the slump has forced establishments like Mont Blanc, on West 48th Street, to send its wait staff home earlier than usual during the week.
“We’re still hopeful for the spring,” said waiter Patricio Vallajo, of Mont Blanc, as he folded white cloth napkins in the empty 60-seat restaurant Sunday.
More than 20 Broadway shows scheduled to open by the spring could bring some relief to area businesses.
“Hair” and “West Side Story,” two long-anticipated musicals, have scheduled Broadway runs for March. While musical acts will otherwise be in short supply, plays featuring stars like Will Ferrell, Jane Fonda and Angela Lansbury are also set to debut here in the spring.
But future performances can’t immediately Velez, the waiter. His average daily tips of $200 fell by two-thirds in January.
“It’s brutally bad,” said Velez, 21, as he smoked a cigarette outside.
Broadway Show Closings
Jan. 4
“Boeing-Boeing,” Longacre Theatre
“Dividing the Estate,” Booth Theatre
“Grease,” Brooks Atkinson Theater
“Hairspray,” Neil Simon Theatre
“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” Marquis Theatre
“Liza’s at the Palace,” Palace Theatre
“Young Frankenstein,” Hilton Theatre
“Slava’s Snowshow,” Helen Hayes Theatre
“13,” Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Jan. 11
“All My Sons,” Gerald Schoenfeld Theater
“Gypsy,” St. James Theatre
“Spamalot,” Shubert Theater
Jan. 18
“Spring Awakening,” Eugene O’ Neill Theatre
