How much do broadway performers get paid per performance?

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Just curious.

[SweetLips]

I've always wanted to know so hope you get some replies. I remember who the first person was to receive A$10.000 a week in Australia and that was probably 15/20 years ago so what must it be now?
Silly of me to assume-I instantly thought you meant leading performers.

[Tag]

The minimum for musicals & plays is $1807/week. Anyone can negotiate over scale.

[Tag]

AEA Minimum - Production Contracts

[Sutton Ross]

Syesha Mercado makes $10,000 a week for Book of Mormon.

[CapnHook]

I think it is highly inappropriate to make public someone's salary.

To generalize it a bit:

Any actor on Broadway is likely on a Production contract, and at MINIMUM they are required to make $1,807/week. The salary is often increased more than minimum due to a variety of reasons (AEA regulates that actors get an specified increase in salary for reasons of understudying, being a dance captain, extreme risk, scenic changes, etc.). And of course, an agent can often get their client a better deal.

For an actor playing a featured role, they will typically make anywhere between $200-$2,000/week higher than minimum.

Leading actors typically make at least $5,000/week. In addition, it can be negotiated that they also receive a percentage of ticket sales.

[Sutton Ross]

Her salary was already made public due to a lawsuit about a month ago.

[gleek4114]

I read somewhere that while Alice Ripley was in Next to Normal she made $8,000 a week.

[jonartdesigns]

Didn't Lane and Broderick make 100k a week when they came back to The Producers?

Incidentally to answer the original post the bare minimum any actor on broadway currently makes per performance is $135.88 (equity minimum divided by

[mjohnson2]

Yeah, Alice Ripley's salary was 8K, and on tour it was even higher.

[CATSNYrevival]

Wow. When you break it down per performance the minimum doesn't seem like enough. That's the price of a ticket.

[ShakinBaconGirl]

I guess I'm more interested in hearing about the ensemble.

[Tag]

1807/8 = 225.88 per show (not 135.88 )
Keep in mind, most people have increments on top of that.

[jonartdesigns]

woops got a little dyslexic there, i did the math for 1087 instead of 1807

[JBradshaw]

Syesha's weekly salary was public on many sites (tmz, justjared)

I may be incorrect, it's been many years, but I remember when Bebe Neuwirth was Velma in "Chicago" hers was around $30,000 a week.

[musicaltheatreman2]

what was the law suite with syesha and the book of morman about?

[CATSNYrevival]

No way the Weisslers paid anyone 30,000 a week.

[LizzieCurry]

what was the law suite with syesha and the book of morman about?


It's not hard to find after googling. Just make sure you spell "Mormon" right.

[PalJoey]

I would go see a musical called "The Book of Norman."

[brettarnett]

I thought Alice would have made more but I guess things were negotiated after the Tonys and like already said, made much more on tour.

EDIT: Just figured out what $8,000 a week would be over a year and I take back what I said, that's quite the sum!

[Sutton Ross]

"what was the law suite with syesha and the book of morman about?"


"It's not hard to find after googling. Just make sure you spell "Mormon" right."

Lawsuit, too.

[haterobics]

"EDIT: Just figured out what $8,000 a week would be over a year and I take back what I said, that's quite the sum!"

Well, you also have to factor in that actors don't often work every year. So, it's often a feast and famine business. So, when you work, you save, and you never know long it will be until you're next great gig. Annual salaries only exist as a concept to people who work every year, whereas after any show, many actors won't know when their next payday is...

So, using Alice, sure, she lucked out, got in a great show and did 16 months on Broadway, and then a 9 month tour (where she probably made more), but then what has her salary been since the N2N tour ended in July 2011?

Also, I'm not sure I would trust Syesha's weekly salary if the source of the number is the person suing her is a former manager who didn't bother with things like paperwork.

[dramamama611]

Contracts aren't necessarily re-negotiated after a Tony win (or nom), those things are usually in the initial contract. The producers have no reason MID contract to re-negotiate. A contract is binding, and producer's arene't going to pay more, if they don't have to!

All sorts of things get negotiated, too. I remember something about Gavin Creel's contract for Hair. (I'm working on memory here, so while details might be wrong, the genereal gist of the info is correct.) The producers were being REALLY cheap and wertr willing to only pay scale. Creel agreed to it but only with a very short contract, so that if the show WAS succressful, he could renegotiate for a more appropriate salary. Twas a good call on his part. (Gee, I wish he'd come back to the States.)

[BroadwayGirl107]

Just want to point out that in addition to union fees (2.25% of salary) and taxes, most Broadway performers lose around 25% of their salary in commission to their agents & managers. If they only have an agent, it's 10%, but if they have both and you factor in the other deductions, actors are probably actually walking with half of they money they are getting paid.

[qolbinau]

I am impressed whoever fought for these minimums because they are not too bad and important given (as discussed) this profession doesn't offer stable work. The USA has a ridiculously low minimum wage. This industry in particular I think would attract people who would work for very little or nothing to star on Broadway and I'm sure producers would take advantage of the lowest bid if they could. Thank you AEA!!!