\'Best Man,\' \'One Man, Two Guvnors\' Turn a Profit

By PATRICK HEALY

Only a fraction of Broadway musicals ever turn a profit, and even rarer are plays that end up making money for their investors. But in the last week, two did: The producers of the “Gore Vidal's The Best Man” announced on Monday that they had recouped their $3.25 million capitalization costs, a few days after producers of the comedy “One Man, Two Guvnors” said they had recouped their investment of $3.25 million as well.

“The Best Man,” a revival of Vidal's 1960 play about backroom deal-making at a presidential convention, was a bigger hit at the box office (thanks to stars like James Earl Jones and, in its first months, Angela Lansbury) than with critics or Tony Awards voters; the show lost out at the Tonys in June. “One Man, Two Guvnors,” an import from London's National Theater about a bumbling manservant caught in a web of lies, had strong reviews and word-of-mouth buzz for its Tony-winning lead actor, Jam es Corden.

Ticket sales for both plays continued to be solid last week, even as many other shows saw declines amid the traditional late-summer doldrums and vacations of star actors. “One Man, Two Guvnors,” which is scheduled to close on Sunday, grossed $746,407, or 80 percent of the maximum possible amount â€" a strong showing for a play.“The Best Man,” which closes Sept. 9, grossed $575,811, or 53 percent of its maximum potential.

Overall, Broadway musicals and plays grossed $19.3 million last week, compared to $20.9 million the previous week and $11.6 million for the comparable week last August (when several performances were cancelled due to Hurricane Irene). The top-grossing Broadway shows last week were the musicals “The Lion King,” “Wicked,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” and “Once.”