How much do Broadway performers get paid?
How much do Broadway performers get paid?
bryanw3535
Understudy Joined: 7/7/07
#1How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 10:29am
This inquiring mind wants to know...
How much does a Broadway performer get paid?
Are they paid by performance? Weekly? Monthly?
How wide is the salary gap between the megastars like Patti LuPone and a swing or ensemble member?
If anyone knows specifics for a particular show (past or present), that'd be interesting too, I think.
Forgive me if this question is...
(a) a faux pas to ask in the BroadwayWorld community.
(b) something that has been discussed frequently (I searched with no luck).
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#2re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 10:33amAlso, do they use direct deposit?
#2re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 10:35amLiza uses direct deposit. You can't really trust her with a check, y'know.
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#3re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 10:46am
Quick general answer:
Broadway minimum is around $1600 a week. Typically, only chorus and newcomers get minimum. A principal actor with propr Broadway credits and a decent agent should be able to get $2000 or more.
A leading actor who's a Broadway veteran but not a TV or movie might get around $5000 to $10,000 a week.
A TV or movie star typicaly gets $20,00 or more.
#4re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 11:21amYour searching skills suck. Someone starts a thread about this every 2 months.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#5re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 11:24am
... and the standard salary for a regular role on a network series begins at about $35,000 per episode.
Hmmm. And the kids on here ask why a Broadway actor strays away from Broadway as quickly as possible. 
#6re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 11:34am
$1600 a week for a year isn't bad... In places that aren't New York. In Texas or some other cheap place, that'd be a little above an average living. That would be a great salary for a twenty-something there.
Updated On: 9/3/09 at 11:34 AM
#7re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 11:50amIs it true I read once that Nathan Lane was actually the highest paid broadway star?
"Everything in life, is only for now"
-Avenue Q
bryanw3535
Understudy Joined: 7/7/07
#8re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 11:57am
Thanks, orangeskittles, for your helpful response.
Would you, oh wise searcher, please point me to a few of those relevant threads to which you refer?
To everyone else: Thanks for your insight!
#9re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 12:01pmI think it would be safe to say that they make more than a lot of people posting on this board - including myself.
"All our dreams can come true -- if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney
We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".
#10re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 1:15pm
Also, do they use direct deposit?
I'm not sure if that was a serious question, but yes, Equity now requires employers to offer direct deposit, and most actors choose to use it.
Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters. ~ Wicked
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
"He's a tramp, but I love him."
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
#11re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 2:21pmThey're paid in hugs and funfetti cake. Pretty good deal, I'd say.
Everywhere like such as.
Cabchic
Leading Actor Joined: 8/1/03
#12re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 2:24pmThe bad thing is they aren't guaranteed to make that for a full year. I may make less but at least I know at the end of the year I will make such and such a salary. They never know when the show can close. Granted in this economy, many people are unsure of their jobs.
#13re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 2:51pmHow much do you think someone like Sutton would make??
I'm a professional. Whenever something goes wrong on stage, I know how to handle it so no one ever remembers. I flash my %#$&.
"Jayne just sat there while Gina flailed around the stage like an idiot."
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#14re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 2:53pm...Unless you join Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys, Wicked...
Formerly SirNotAppearing - Joined 3/08
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#15re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/3/09 at 4:55pm
As i said, someone like Sutton Foster, who is a leading lady but not a "star", probably earns between $5,000 and $10,000 a week.
When Nathan Lane and Matthew returned to THE PRODUCERS after being out a year, they reprtedly earned $50,000 a week PLUS a percentage of the box office - making their weekly salaries around $100,000. And YES, it was worth it - the weekly box office jumped from around $700,000 to $1,000,000 when they returned.
#16re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/4/09 at 1:09am
And this is why people are treating your thread like a joke:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=970079#3602874
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=962125#3529485
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=949068#3330540
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=929675#2901327
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=924954#2794665
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=999281#3859543
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=987872#3752207
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=982848#3705811
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardid=1&boardname=bway&thread=933553#2980406
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Updated On: 9/4/09 at 01:09 AM
Wanting life but never knowing how
#17re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/4/09 at 1:24amGlinda and Elphaba, in the Broadway production make $8,000 a week.
#18re: How much do Broadway performers get paid?
Posted: 9/4/09 at 1:29amEvery actress is different. That may be where negotiations START but chances are that they won't end there.
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