Posted: 9/1/26 at 9:54am
Another national tour casting notice dropped today, and once again I have serious questions about what Actors’ Equity is allowing to happen under the current Touring Agreement.
The upcoming national tour of Just in Time is apparently going out under a Level 6 Touring Agreement, with an Equity minimum of just $995 per week.
For comparison, the current Broadway minimum is $2,717 per week.
That means an Equity performer doing essentially the same professional production on the road can have a contractual minimum that is $1,722 less per week — roughly 63% below the Broadway minimum.
And we aren't talking about an unproven show desperately trying to make touring economics work.
Just in Time has already recouped its entire $12.5 million Broadway capitalization, becoming the first musical of the 2024–25 Broadway season to announce recoupment. The Broadway production has repeatedly broken the weekly gross record at Circle in the Square and has spent much of its run playing to extremely strong houses. [Playbill reported the recoupment in May.]
So now this proven commercial hit is going on the road — into a touring market where I would argue it is practically tailor-made for the subscription audience — and we're supposed to accept that Level 6 wages are economically necessary?
Bobby Darin. "Mack the Knife." "Beyond the Sea." "Splish Splash." A nostalgic jukebox musical that has already demonstrated its commercial viability on Broadway. If there were ever a show positioned to appeal directly to the traditional Broadway Across America/subscription demographic, this is it.
Obviously, nobody can guarantee that a national tour will be profitable before it opens. Touring has different expenses and economics than Broadway. But that's precisely why I think Equity members deserve much more transparency about how these tiers are actually being determined.
Because at some point the question becomes:
What kind of show actually has to go out for Equity to demand Level 1 wages?
If a Broadway musical can recoup a $12.5 million capitalization, repeatedly break its theatre's box-office record, demonstrate sustained audience demand, and then launch a first-class national tour at the lowest touring tier, what commercial benchmark is left?
This is becoming especially concerning when viewed alongside Death Becomes Her going out at Level 5. We seem to be watching highly commercial Broadway properties enter the road at increasingly low contractual minimums while Equity performers absorb the difference.
And these aren't community-theatre actors being given an opportunity to tour. These are professional union performers being asked to leave their homes, live out of suitcases, travel across North America eight shows a week, and maintain the physical demands of a first-class production for a contractual minimum of $995 a week.
To be clear, the producers are operating under a collectively bargained agreement. My criticism isn't that they're violating the contract. My question is why Actors' Equity negotiated a system that permits a production with this commercial track record to occupy Level 6 in the first place.
The union should be aggressively scrutinizing the financial assumptions being used to classify tours at these levels and explaining to its membership why extraordinarily successful Broadway properties qualify for the bottom tiers.
Because if Just in Time qualifies for Level 6, I genuinely want to know:
What show doesn't?
Casting notice: https://playbill.com/job/just-in-time-tour-nyc-epa-09-16-26/97280128-1d67-4a3e-89ac-11b74d60f0c9
Recoupment reporting: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/theater/just-in-time-broadway-profit.html
.jpg?format=auto&width=300)
