About six weeks ago there was a story that ticket sales for Katie Holmes’ Broadway debut in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons were lower than expected. You would think that all photos out of Katie grinning maniacally while taking her daughter out past a two year old’s bedtime would help generate publicity and advance sales for the play, but it hasn’t helped. Katie Homes does not seem to be a big box office draw and sales are still low for the play. The economy isn’t the reason, according to MSNBC, because other celebrities have managed to sell out shows recently. The play also features seasoned stars John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest and Patrick Wilson.

One needs to look no further than the successes of “A Chorus Line” and “Spamalot” for proof that celebrities sell Broadway tickets, but in the case of “All My Sons,” that rule might not necessarily apply.

Ticket sales for the show, which stars Katie Holmes and Patrick Wilson, are thus far “definitely off from what the production hoped,” according to a source close to “Sons.” It’s hard to know what exactly is to blame.

“You can’t say it’s the economy,” says the source, “because there are shows, like ‘Mamma Mia’ that are selling out.” One possibility bandied about is that audiences are too nostalgic for Holmes’ “Dawson’s Creek” persona to clamor for tickets. “It’s not that Katie’s bad in the part. She’s good enough. The producers are just getting the feeling people still want to view Katie as sweet little Joey Potter.”

That said, Jackie Green, a publicist for “All My Sons,” says that chatter about tepid ticket sales and rumors of a shorter-than-expected run are entirely untrue. “That information is totally false. There is a healthy advance for the show, and there is no chance of the run being shortened,” says Green. “Sons” opens Oct. 16 and runs through Jan. 11.

[From MSNBC’s The Scoop]
All My Sons is a drama, and those type of more serious plays may not be as easy to sell out as fun musicals. Julia Roberts Spring 2006 turn on Broadway in the drama Three Days of Rain was a huge success, with all 16 performances selling out and over $2 million in ticket sales. Roberts was the highest paid woman in show business from 2001 to 2005, and it might not be fair to compare her to Holmes, who is now best known for being Tom Cruise’s wife. Holmes’ last feature film, Mad Money, was a commercial and critical flop and only managed to take in $24 million, enough to barely break even.

The play opens October 16 and has a nearly three month run. We’ll have to see if sales pick up next month and if Katie’s performance is well received. I liked her in Pieces of April, and she could manage to pull this off to acceptable acclaim. I wouldn’t bet on it, though.

not surprising

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