Death Becomes Her - Non-Union Tour BS

[macbeth]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 6:45am

What a feckless union Equity is to let a hit new Broadway show that's had steady grosses and (awesome cast) no big stars to fill the house. ie: the perfect touring show, right?

Nope, a Level 5 touring contract.

https://playbill.com/job/death-becomes-her-orlando-auditions/39d75640-8077-444f-8c2b-ed50b4b3dd9b

[auroraspice62]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 8:27am

The salary range seems to match level 5, but why would it say non-union at the bottom of the post?

[MimiChika]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 9:06am

macbeth said: "What a feckless union Equity is to let a hit new Broadway show that's had steady grosses and (awesome cast) no big stars to fill the house. ie: the perfect touring show, right?

Nope, a Level 5 touring contract.

https://playbill.com/job/death-becomes-her-orlando-auditions/39d75640-8077-444f-8c2b-ed50b4b3dd9b"

The tour is gonna be Equity, the salary range is from Touring agreement and Full production because they are casting future replacements for both the tour and Broadway. Is listed as Non Union cause is an open call not an equity call 

Updated On: 10/30/25 at 09:06 AM

[MezzoDiva47]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 1:41pm

macbeth said: "What a feckless union Equity is to let a hit new Broadway show that's had steady grosses and (awesome cast) no big stars to fill the house. ie: the perfect touring show, right?

Nope, a Level 5 touring contract."

 

you get what you pay for

a cast pilfered from every colleges musical theatre programs spring showcase

a crew with the level of churn such that there will be entirely new ppl 6 months into the run

a budget cut to unrealistic and unsustainable levels

this is what I am hearing from my friends out there in the trenches on these low tier tours

the salary disparity reflects trumps america

tier 5 equity ensemble minimum is 40% of full production contract  (sad!)

insulting and pathetic for a show which has been making a profit every week since opening on broadway

they might as well go shopping at the dollar store for the two leading ladies

how will they ever lure in anyone even close to Megan Hilty or Jennifer Simard

it will be a bunch of actors in their early 20s attempting to play characters in their 40s and 50s

feckless is an appropriate adjective for actors equity allowing this to go through

tiers 2 3 and 4 barely seem to get used

they should just admit its full production contract for hamilton and wicked

and crumbs for everyone else

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 2:15pm

What financial trickery did the producers do in order to get this approved? James M. Nederlander and the John Gore Organization are both listed co-producers of the Broadway production and own/operate some of the largest touring markets in the country, so they have a clear conflict of interest to get the show on the lowest tier as possible. It’s clear the lead producer, Universal, and the aforementioned presenters manipulated the projected numbers the tour would make in order to give those working on the show the shaft. 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 2:23pm

Y'all saw how long it took for understudies/standbys to get actual Costumes made for them that weren't bought off a department store shelf. This shouldn't be a big shock lol. 

[jakethesnake]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 2:41pm

I think it's ridiculous that AEA allows these tours to go out on these contracts.  But to the poster who thinks they won't find excellent leading ladies to play these roles?   Do you think they pay everyone at minimum?   They will pay money to the important leads and end up with great options there.  It's the supporting players and ensemble who suffer. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 3:58pm

It's just because it's an open call looking for dancers/acrobatics. I'm sure the first national tour will be a big Equity tour that will pay everyone accordingly. If it were a Non-Union tour the leads would be getting $800/wk. 

[MezzoDiva47]

Posted: 10/30/25 at 11:08pm

jakethesnake said: "I think it's ridiculous that AEA allows these tours to go out on these contracts. But to the poster who thinks they won't find excellent leading ladies to play these roles? Do you think they pay everyone at minimum? They will pay money to the important leads and end up with great options there. It's the supporting players and ensemble who suffer."

 

i stand corrected

to a degree

i doubt they will get 'A' listers because the salaries still wont be comparable

although they wont be as severely reduced as the ensemble salaries

also on such a low tiered tour the production values will have to be whittled down to something unrecognizable compared to the lavish broadway experience

so they will make do with B+ listers

and yes the non-union label is misleading in the casting call

it is an equity tour but cut off at the knees

given the success of this show on broadway the decision to make this tour a tier 5 is most decidedly BS