How much does it cost for an employer to pay a principal role on a broadway musical

$1,754 per week is Equity minimum for a Broadway production contract.

EDIT: This does not include the employer's insurance paid for each performer. That's the minimum amount a performer makes.

---

Updated On: 8/29/12 at 09:08 AM

Let me tell you why I'm asking this so it will be easier for you to understand and to answer!

I'm writing a paper on the french musical business compare to the one in the USA. I'm trying to see if one day Paris could be as big as Broadway !

In France the employer has to pay contributions. Because we have what we called "l'intermittence "which means that a performer with enough working hours will make money every month even though he is not working. And that, thanks to the contributions that employers have to pay. So, it makes the labor cost very high for an employer.

To me it could partially explain why it is hard to produce a musical in France.

What do you think, do you have such things in the US ...???

Thanks

1,754 is the minimum wage for any Broadway actor, but I guess principal actors wouldn't get out of bed for that.

Just out of interest what would a principal actor earn a week, just a rough guess.

yES, I understood that 1,754 is the minimum salary for a broadway performer.

So, you say that performers have benefits while they are employed, but what about when they are not ? Do they still make money ? or do they just have to find a second job to make a living ( waiters in NYC...)

You talked about insurances, so let's say a performer earns $2000 per week, how much will the employer pay ( what the contributions ( insurances) ?) $2,500 in total ? more, less ...

Ok, thanks for your answer. That's what I thought.

If you know interesting facts about the broadway business ... Feel free to let me know.

Basically, My work will be divided into two main parts:
-Cultural differences between France and the USA
- Economy differences, cost to produce... between France and the USA

Okay, thanks.

I tried to ask people working in production.. but did not get many answers so far !

Feel free to let me know any additional facts about broadway ( cultural differences, economy..)

Does the government give grants ( subsidies, don't really know which term to use in english!!) to people trying to put on a show ?

This isn't broadway specific, but for the typical tax, insurance, and benefits payments HR folks typically estimate an additional 35-50% of the employees base salary to cover those items and the cost of their administration. That variance really depends on how robust the benefits package is.

So if I paid an employee $1000 a week, my actual out of pocket costs to cover their benefits and my tax liabilities for them would be $1350-1500.

Although that's not b-way specific, it's a general ballpark for you.

In general, US employers contribute to their employees' health insurance, unemployment, pension, etc. Equity has health insurance and pension funds for their members, so employers contribute a specific amount to those - one is a percentage, one is a dollar amount. I don't remember which is which, but you can get those numbers from the Equity Broadway Production Contract, which is available on the Equity website.

Most unions don't put their agreements online for everyone to view, but Equity does, so take advantage of that. It would at least give you a guide of what the employer has to pay for each Equity member, although that does not cover the federal/state/city tax contribution or the unemployment insurance contribution, which are percentages of income and set by the government(s), not the union. It also does not cover the insurance policies that the employer has to have in place, although that does not directly benefit the individual employees (hopefully), and it generally covers everyone working in the theater, including orchestra, stagehands, etc. We can't really give you numbers for those insurance policies, because they are determined by hundreds of factors and set by the various insurance companies.

Slightly unrelated, but I highly doubt that Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick were pulling down $80,000 a week each, even when they returned. Maybe $40k each. Usually, a big star in a show negotiates for a chunk of the box office income on top of their salary. That way they do well if the show does well, but if the show doesn't do well, the producer isn't run into the ground. The most I've heard of an actor getting was $35,000 per week plus a percentage of the box office, and that was an A-list Oscar winning actor in the starring role of a high profile revival.

Back on topic, I appreciate your question. Most people don't understand how much an employee really costs to an employer, in any industry. It's more than just the salary, and people don't realize that.

---

Thank you for your answer.

Knowing people trying to produce musicals in France, I understand How difficult it is to actually be able to put on a musical, mostly due to the labor cost, the taxes the rent and money asked by the theater etc ( also musical theater is not really our "culture"!!).

And that's why I wonder how can producers have the money to produce such shows ? Where does the money come from ? Does it mostly come from private investors? What about the theaters where the shows are running ? Does the producer need to rent it or do they share the sales?...

Until recently, I ran a tiny Equity theatre near Chicago. The Equity Actors earned $400 a week. We paid approximately $150 a week per actor to the Equity League health insurance and penasion fund, plus the standard payments to unemployment, etc.

I'm pretty sure that it is NOT the same proportion for Broadway. Just because Broadway actors get 4 or 5 times as much as we paid, doesn not mean that the health insurance would be 4 or 5 times as much.

Wow. That's insane, but all right. I believe you.

---