Hairspray has been one of Broadway's success stories

Theatres in New York grossed $720.9m (�438.9m) in the 12 months from May 2002, up 12% on the previous year.

The rise in takings can be partly traced to the increase in ticket prices, according to the League of American Theatres and Producers (LATP) which publishes the figures.

Broadway did experience a rocky year, starting strong but going through a difficult winter before audiences increased again.

The revival of Hairspray was one of the year's success stories while the eagerly-awaited Urban Cowboy struggled for two months before closing.

Many shows were hit by a four-day musicians' strike in March which left audiences uncertain how long theatres would be closed for business.

But attendances did top 11.4 million, a rise of 4.3% on the previous year when New York suffered a tourist slump following the 11 September attacks.

Uncertainty

But during that difficult time theatre producers invested heavily in promoting Broadway to local people rather than the tourists.

Many theatres closed during a musicians strike

The average ticket price in the past year has risen from $58 (�35) to $63 (�38), with the top-ticket price for musicals reaching about $100 (�60).

"We did far better than we predicted earlier in the season in light of the decline in local tourism due to economic uncertainty, the Iraq war and the brief musicians' strike," LATP president Jed Bernstein said.

Another of the big pulls of the season has been Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, starring Stanley Tucci and Edie Falco.

British director Sam Mendes' revival of the musical Gypsy has also been the toast of New York since it opened and has been nominated for five Tony Awards.