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Superstorm Sandy Blamed As Broadway Attendance Drops

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The recently ended Broadway season wasn't what it could've been and some of the blame is being pinned on superstorm Sandy.

As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, the storm's impact reached from the shoreline to the Great White Way.

"Attendance was off from the previous year by six percent," Broadway League executive director Charlotte St. Martin told Haskell.

Superstorm Sandy Blamed As Broadway Attendance Drops

For the 2012-2013 Broadway season, shows yielded more than $1.1 billion, according to the Broadway League's computing.

"We were doing quite well up through the week prior to Hurricane Sandy," St. Martin told Haskell. "And as we moved into the winter, the fall-off got more as compared to previous years."

The Oct. 29 storm happened late enough in the year that the annual Broadway grosses were down just 0.1 percent, but St. Martin said many shows still suffered.

"A number of the fall shows that were open-ended didn't find their audience, some would say because of Hurricane Sandy," St. Martin said.

Theater is again booming, St. Martin said.

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