West Side Story Revival the Latest Broadway Smash

The revival of the adored 1957 musical, West Side Story, is the talk of the Great White Way with its first seven preview performances grossing over $1 million.

According to Variety.com, "Box office for the enduring title, which played to 96% capacity auds, looks even more impressive in a week that saw sales at most Rialto offerings sink in the wake of the boosted receipts logged during Presidents' Day weekend."

Wicked edged West Side Story out for the No. 1 spot in the millionaires' club with a gross of over $1.2 million.

The Variety.com article also cites Broadway's other notable revenue mentions, "Also promising, if less spectacularly so, was the bow of 'Blithe Spirit,' which managed to pull in $323,954 from five performances -- a strong showing for the initial previews of a straight play revival."

It seems that the Great White Way is utilizing big ticket celebrities to fill its theater's seats with Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden all appearing in God of Carnage, which made over $100,000 after just two performances and Impressionism, starring Tony Award winning actor Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen, which garnered nearly $60,000 after just one performance.

Besides the Broadway newcomers, the already running plays have fared steady in terms of revenue. An example of this being Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush played to sold-out houses and garnering just under $900,000.

Yet, it was not all wine and roses as the high revenues couldn't deter the predicted post-Presidents' Day drop.

"Week-to-week slides of more than $100,000 each were common, with a handful of shows falling by more than $200,000 each," reported Variety.