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.
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?
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.
#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.
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.
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??
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...
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
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.
Videos