Here’s a surprising statistic, and a testament to the power of Glee and StarKid fans: Darren Criss’ one-week (8 show) total in How to Succeed in Business beat any 8-show week Dan Radcliffe had performed in his entire run.
In its first week with the 24-year-old Glee star, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying raked in nearly $1.4 million at the box office. That’s a dip from Radcliffe’s final week in the hit musical revival (when the show grossed $1.9 million in an unusual nine-performance week), but it outpaces any previous eight-show week when the Harry Potter star appeared. All week, Criss managed to filled 99.8 percent of the seats at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and kept NYC police busy controlling crowds outside the stage door.
Congrats to Darren Criss, Beau Bridges, and the entire cast! Could the record breaking total be because of Criss’ limited 3-week run? Since there are far less dates for Criss than there were Radcliffe, StarKid/Glee fans are highly concentrated in this small time frame.