How much do leads of a show make a year?

[HBBrock]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 3:33pm

I was wondering how much someone like Sherie Renee Scott would make for playing Ursula.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 3:35pm

There was an article along time ago about Cheyenne Jackson making $10,000.00 a week on Xanadu per NY POST that was posted by Yankeefan here last Summer.

J*
Updated On: 4/5/08 at 03:35 PM

[sondhead]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 4:36pm

$520 thousand a year.. that must be nice.. remind me to audition for Xanadu

[RyToast1]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 4:43pm

It depends on how big of a name you are, too. I remember hearing that Fantasia was making a percentage of the house when she was in TCP.

And I'm sure Patti's making LOADS of money for Gypsy.

[sondhead]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 5:41pm

"I remember hearing that Fantasia was making a percentage of the house when she was in TCP."

I hope so. She was really bringin' em in

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 5:42pm

Search! This stuff has been discussed many times before. (I'm not saying this to be mean, but, rather, helpful.)

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 5:49pm

$520 thousand a year.. that must be nice.. remind me to audition for Xanadu

Which is precisely why I find it laughable when I read about all the Wicked/Spring Awakening/Jersey Boys fans creating free websites and Myspaces for their favorite actors.

They can afford to PAY someone.

$520,000 is LOTS more than I make in a year.

[MarkK]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 7:28pm

But out of that amount they are paying 10% to an Agent + 10% to a manager + additional ?% to a lawyer if they have one, + % to a publcist if they have one, and then there are taxes, Equity Dues, etc.

I heard Victoria Clark was making $20K a week for Piazza, and Nathan Lane makes anywhere from $50K - $100Kper week depending on the show.

I think the average is $7K - $15K a week for a big musical

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 7:36pm

Updated On: 5/7/09 at 07:36 PM

[sesot]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 7:37pm

I knew they did well; I just didn't know how well. MarkK, I am sure they are still doing quite well even after taxes and paying everyone else you mentioned. Everyone has to pay taxes and many other careers have dues for their organization too.

[Jon]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 7:42pm

I'd gues the range for lead performers is $5,000 to $12,000, with the exception of "stars" - i.e. movie.TV stars such as David Hyde Pierce. He's probably getting $20-25 grand a week.

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 8:14pm

Exactly sesot.

Much of what they have to pay are tax write-offs.

We all pay taxes.

Even assuming they only get to keep 1/2 of it, $260,000 is still tens of times more than I get to take home after taxes.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 8:16pm

Updated On: 5/7/09 at 08:16 PM

[DG]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 8:23pm

I love how the 'per week salary' gets multiplied by 52 and all of a sudden that's how much they make.

Just out of curiosity, how many of these people making 'all that money' work consistently at that rate of pay? What roles did Ms. Clark have before PIAZZA that garnered her such a dependable salary? And for how long?

There seems to be a bit (if not a lot) of naivete here.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 8:30pm

Sadly, let's face the facts: whatever Broadway stars make pales into insignificance when compared to the salaries they can make in leading roles on network TV or in movies. That's why so many talents of the stage leave and never come back.

$260,000 a year is peanuts. David Hyde Pierce was making that in a month on "Frasier", probably more.

When the entertainment industry (all except Broadway) moved out west, the days of the all-media star was over, although there are still all sorts of them in London, where movies, stage, radio and TV are all within the TMZ.

[puppetman2]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 12:16am

10 % to an agent is a laugh. That was in the old days, the very old days. Now there are personal managers who take a big chunk of the take. They negotiate for high saleries so they will make a bigger profit for themselves. Yes, stars make big bucks, but on the average, I've heard that they clean about half of what we hear they make.

I say more power to them as they are usually the reason a show is successful.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 4:49am

But don't forget: most b'way actors are NOT considered big stars and are not earning anywhere NEAR the figures being thrown around here. If all B'way shows were paying all their leads that kind of money, NONE of them would turn a profit.

MOST b'way actors make a LOT less.

[FlyingMonkey1223]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 5:19am

I do believe equity requires -almost- 2,000 dollars a week for an ensemble performer...so I don't think the rates for a leads are THAT far off. I assume a shows leads makes probably about 7-10k a week, depending on how their agents negotiate and how big of a star they are.

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 10:23am

Last I read, Equity doesn't allow agents to take more than 10%.

[Neverandy]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 11:18am

Equity minimum for the production contract is 1509 a week. I know personally that many of the numbers on this thread are exaggerated. An actor joining a long running show in a principle (not necessarily a "final bow" role, but a white contract) usually starts out around 1800-2500. Now, increases (at time of contract renewal) are usually written in as options in the original contract, and are set up to a time period (12-18 months from original signing).
For example if you were to join Lion King as Nala (a principle part that doesn't understudy another)you would be offered a decent amount above minimum (see above) for 6-9 months, with a options to extend at a pre-determined increase at different intervals.
Obviously these numbers are not concrete, and every single situation is different. Certainly someone who has solid broadway credits has more negotiating power than someone who is making their debut.
Equity dues are in the neighborhood of 2%
No franchised Agent is allowed to take more than 10% of the nogotiated salary as per Equity rules.
Managers are a completely different story since they are not regulated.
Based on my knowledge-7-10k is a little high for all but a few of the regular broadway people (i.e. stars to us, but not the general public) currently playing leading roles.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 11:46am

Not a lot of theater actors have managers. Less than 5% of my clients do. The standard manager commission is 15% - not regulated per se, but it is standard and common.

Something to keep in mind is that agents and managers work for their clients year-round, whether the client is working and making money year-round or not. When you think about the fact that actors aren't paid 52 weeks a year, remember that neither then are the agents/managers.

Updated On: 4/6/08 at 11:46 AM

[Neverandy]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 2:22pm

I agree with Rath-not that many Musical theater people have managers. Also, keep in mind that many agents negotiate into contracts what is known as a "Plus 10", which means that they negotiate the salary and then get their 10% added on, so that the client salary, in theory, doesn't change. My agent does this on most of my contracts.

[caitlinette]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 3:52pm

These numbers amaze me, because I always thought that leads made about 1500-2500 per week, certainly not 20,000!

[lesmis]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 5:23pm

Then I guess the leads renegotiate for higher salaries if they stay for another year.

[Neverandy]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 5:31pm

Yes and re-negotiation is different for everyone and every show. Think of it this way, it goes without saying that John Lloyd Young had a huge jump in salary for his first negotiation after his Tony win, but it would be unrealistic for one to think that Laura Bell Bundy will get the same treatment for Legally Blonde.