Broadway performers salary question

[Tap16]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:31pm

SO does any one know like how a broadway actor gets payed like weekly or what? and how much?

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:33pm

Well, my school had this program where, in the year 2000, it estimated Broadway actors to get a salary of about 1,034 dollars a week.......

Apparantly, now it just depends on who you are and for what show. I think the Wicked leads for instance get what, 50,000? Or have I been lied to...

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:33pm

Broadway minimum is $1381/week. It goes up from there depending on size of role and the performer's other credentials.

[PJ]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:37pm

I'm pretty sure the original leads in Wicked, Kristin and Idina, were both getting $35,000 a week. But when Idina won the Tony, and Cheno left, she was given a raise to $50,000 a week. I'm not sure if Bean and Hilty are being paid that same amount now. Oh, and this is only what I've heard. I could be wrong.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:40pm

PJ- my friend just IMed me and reminded me that Shoshana Bean, on her fan website back when they had Q and As, said that leads were still paid 50,000 a week. So there we are.

Geez...35,000....50,000...

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:42pm

Wow! Did she really say what her salary was on her website? I think that is tres tacky.

[BroadwayBound06]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:43pm

A little over twenty weeks and you're a millionaire if you're the lead.

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:43pm

Wow, if Sho does the role for 52 weeks, she makes over 2 million.

[ikmbway]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:46pm

Well don't forget a tax on that. That is a lot of money. Wow I wanna be paid that much.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:49pm

WonderBoy- If I remember, the question was:

How much does the Wicked cast get paid?

And I think the reply was:

Anywhere up to 50,000 a week.

Something like that.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:51pm

Yeah, I still find it tacky to talk about your salary. It is no ones business. Ya know?

[BwayBoy25]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:52pm

is that really 50k a week..or 50k annual salary?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:54pm

Per week for a tiny handful of performers. Lane and Broderick made $100K per week for their return engagement in The Producers.

[BwayBoy25]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:55pm

chorus member would probably make about 2k a week then

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:56pm

I find it extremely hard to believe Shoshana Bean is making $50,000 a wekk in Wicked. I'm surprised to hear even Idina was making that much, but at least that's believable.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:57pm

http://web.actorsequity.org/Members/agreement_info.asp?inc=001

[BwayBoy25]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:59pm

are those per hour?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:59pm

I'm pretty sure S. Bean and Megan Hilty aren't making that kind of money. Standard Broadway salary for non name performers in lead musicals like PHANTOM, for example, is closer to 10-15G a week. Still a great salary.

I think Glenn Close was only making 45,000 a week for SUNSET. That was almost ten years ago, true, but we're talking Glenn Close...

If the performers have percentage of gross in their contracts, they could make 50G a week easy. But most non name performers don't get that kind of money.

For what it's worth, remember the reason Laura Bell Bundy didn't replace Kristen Chenoweth, is partly because she wouldn't work for what the producers were offering. I'm sure she'd have taken 50G in a heartbeat.
Updated On: 7/8/05 at 06:59 PM

[TonyBWay]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:00pm

Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane were making up near the same amount during their time in THE PRODUCERS (plus b.o.%). I highly doubt that any one in the current production is making $50,000/wk for WICKED.

Generally there is a clause in an actor's contract that will increase their weekly pay if they are nominated for a Tony-Award ($500/wk more?) and if they win ($1,000/wk more?).

Updated On: 7/8/05 at 07:00 PM

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:03pm

Still great money.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:08pm

I also find it very hard to believe that Bean makes that. The number of Broadway performers who have EVER made that much is tiny. Peters, Lane and Broderick ($50K plus a percentage of box office) come to mind and probably Jackman as well (though I don't remember his salary ever being released). Even people like Bebe Neuwirth and Donna Murphy, who are much bigger Tony award-winning "names" than Bean and have been around for a long time, never made more that $25-35K a week to my knowledge. Producers simply don't hand out that much money to someone without a proven track record at the box office (unless they're from Hollywood and famous).

Salary is based on name-recognition and the ability to generate ticket sales. Aside from Wicked fans on BWW, who on earth has ever even heard of Shoshana Bean? And how many tickets does her name sell every week? Not many. Her understudy could go on for her for the next three months and the show would still sell out without her.

As someone who is a total unknown to the general public, I'd be shocked if Bean makes more than $10,000/week.

[joeybiltmore1]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:14pm

Someone told me once that if a person is ballsy enough to tell you their salary, chances are they're inflating it.

I have a hard time believing that Shoshana is making more than $15-20K a week or so. She deserves more, to be sure, but the reality of it is that Wicked is not a "Star" show and that means producers can fill the role with whatever (amazing) person they find and pay them much less than a star star.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:15pm

wow i'm shocked by all of this, i thought the highest paying actor got $10k a week!

[PJ]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:22pm

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the leading ladies of The Big W are each making $50,000 a week. The show has been turning a profit for quite some time now, so all the weekly intake is going towards their stay at the Gershwin, the actors and into the producers' pockets. Right?

Updated On: 7/8/05 at 07:22 PM

[joeybiltmore1]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:29pm

PJ, you are over-estimating the integrity of most producers. Your theory SHOULD be right, but the fact is that most producers would pay minimum to everyone if they could and agents have to scrape for all they can get unless it's a mega star.