Les Miserables Sets Records in Dallas

According to the folks at AT&T Performing Arts Center, the recent Dallas tour stop of the 25th anniversary edition of the blockbuster musical Les Misérables set major records, not just for Dallas but for the show.

It was the most successful two-week run of a touring show in Dallas, banking $3.1 million in ticket sales (the previous record was set by a tour of Mamma Mia! presented by Dallas Summer Musicals in 2006). It was also was the best selling two-well run of the show in the 26-year history of touring North America.

Of course, part of that has to be the fact that ticket prices are higher now.

Either way, good news.

Here's the official release from AT&T Performing Arts Center:

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 in North America.

"This clearly establishes that the Winspear Opera House is a premier venue for presenting Broadway in North Texas and the United States," says Mark Weinstein, president and CEO for the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

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 achieved 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.