. . . doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

Our first full week after the end of summer ended with grosses tumbling to levels not seen in months.  It’s weeks like this that remind us all how much of a tourist driven biz we are.  Why sure, it’s easy for all of us Broadway folks to complain about how long it takes to walk through Times Square on a Summery Saturday Afternoon, but it’s right about now when anyone with a show on would gladly take a tourist traffic jam over the wasteland that is the square these days.

Not surprising, given the time of year, family musicals took the biggest hit (even if you’re ok with your kids going out on a school night, letting them out on a school night the first week of school is probably a long shot).

(I remained impressed by the strength of A Bronx Tale this time of year – a sign that the locals, who may have been away for the summer at ‘da shore, may have returned and want to see a show.)

Overall it was a 15% drop from the week before . . . which, if we were the Dow, would send quite a shock wave through the biz.

But we were expecting it.  And when  you see a punch in the gut coming, you can tighten up a bit to prep for the body blow.

Hopefully the shows on the boards below all tightened their belts as well.

Here are last week’s Broadway grosses: