South Pacific Rules Box Office as Broadway Biz Plunges ....

Last week on shaky Broadway stages (perhaps a back-to-school phenomenon), most shows suffered drastic declines in patronage, the worst being a not so merry Mary Poppins , down by 46.7% to a meager 46.5% capacity.

Among other surprising losers, Spring Awakening filled up only 51% of the seats; Grease, 55.5%; Legally Blond, 49.9%. Recent departures include the long-running Rent and A Chorus Line, which enjoyed a nearly two year run on the revival boards and is now touring.

Most remarkably, South Pacific in revival for the first time ruled the pack at 99.8% followed by Wicked (98.2%)

Rodgers and Hammerstein must be smiling brightly wherever they are.