Last week, I got into a bet with a staffer about the effect of Veterans Day on Broadway biz.

I bet biz would go up.  He bet it wouldn’t.

I won.

Veterans Day is a sneaky little holiday because the day floats through different days of the week each year.  This past Vets Day put the holiday on a Friday, which actually helped create a reverse long weekend (Friday first).

But no matter what side of the weekend the holiday is on, biz goes up.  Just give kids a day off from school, and families (including locals) will come into the city.

Grosses jumped 20% from the week before this past week, thanks to big jumps in the big hits (Hamilton well over $3mm and Dolly well over $2mm), as well as some new shows on the boards, including SpongeBob and my Once On This Island with only 6 shows and over 100% capacity!  And Amy Schumer + Steve Martin put $1mm in the bank at Meteor Shower (and I honestly do believe it’s the combination of those two that are selling tickets . . . not just one . . . Schumer in a Martin show makes sense to a consumer like coffee with cream).

The week ahead will obviously pull back from last week’s high (What goes up must come down), but there is no argument in my office about next week’s holiday.

So stick around, because this Thanksgiving I expect that we’re going to see some of the highest grosses that Broadway has ever seen, which will give us a lot to be thankful for.