Stars don’t do Broadway for the money, theater people like to say. They do it for art, for prestige, for a chance to turn around a sagging film career.
But while a leading role on Broadway is not nearly as lucrative as a starring, or even a supporting, role in a movie or a television show, the weekly paycheck can be plenty hefty.
Right now the highest-paid performer on Broadway is Richard Chamberlain, who is playing Captain von Trapp in ‘The Sound of Music.” The actor, production sources say, pulls down about $50,000 a week. That figure is a combination of a guaranteed base salary, plus a percentage of the gross box-office receipts.
Fast on his heels is Bernadette Peters, the star of ‘Annie Get Your Gun.” According to investment papers on file at the New York state attorney general’s office, Peters earns a base salary of $30,000 a week against a percentage of the box-office gross. The actress has agreed to stay with the show for a year. By the end of her run, if the show is still going strong, she can rake in over $40,000 a week.
Are Chamberlain and Peters worth all that money?
Absolutely, theater producers say. Both are big draws. Chamberlain has reinvigorated the year-old ‘Sound of Music,” and Peters helped ‘Annie Get Your Gun” overcome mixed reviews.
‘The rule on Broadway is, if they generate business, they’re worth the price,” says John Hart, a veteran theater producer and an investor in ‘Annie Get Your Gun.”
In the past, Broadway’s biggest names – Ethel Merman, Yul Brynner, Mary Martin, Zero Mostel – had a standard deal – 10 percent of the gross, whether the show was making money or not.
But as production costs began to escalate in the 1980s – and as the pool of bona fide Broadway stars got smaller and smaller – producers balked at that deal, which could bleed them when the show was losing money.
Instead, agents negotiated compensation packages that, like Peters’ and Chamberlain’s, move up and down with the fortunes of the show.
‘The stars realized there was more than one way to skin a cat,” says producer Hal Luftig, whose credits include ‘Jelly’s Last Jam” and ‘Moon Over Buffalo.”
‘They got savvy about gross potential and profit sharing. They realized that, if they didn’t demand so much up front, they could get a bigger slice of the pie at the back end.”
Musicals pay better than straight plays, of course – though Brian Dennehy is doing pretty well in ‘Death of a Salesman.” Sources say the actor earns between $10,000 and $15,000 a week as Willy Loman in the hit revival.
And he’s worth every penny, says Allan S. Gordon, the show’s producer. ‘Brian is an essential part of the show. He is unique value. We don’t even have an understudy for him.”
Not all of the stars currently on Broadway are making gobs of money. Plays like ‘Amy’s View,” and ‘The Iceman Cometh” are limited engagements. For those productions to make a profit, their stars forgo huge weekly salaries in exchange for a share of the profits. Theater sources say Judi Dench (‘Amy’s View”) is making $2,500 a week – but will get 12.5 percent of the profits. Nicole Kidman and had the same deal in ‘The Blue Room,” which made about $2 million, earning the actress over $200,000.
Kevin Spacey, meanwhile, is working for scale ($1,135) in ‘The Iceman Cometh.” He will also get, sources say, between 15 and 20 percent of the estimated $1 million profit.
WHO’S MAKING WHAT
Brian Dennehy “Death of a Salesman” $10,000-$15,000 a week
Kevin Spacey “The Iceman Cometh” $1,135 a week (+ 15 percent of net profits)
Judi Dench “Amy’s View” $2,500 a week (+ 12.5 percent of net profits)
Nicole Kidman “The Blue Room” $2,500 a week (+ 12.5 percent of net profits)
Matthew Brokerick “Night Must Fall” $Less than $5,000 a week
ALL TIME SALARY CHAMPS
Julie Andrews “Victor/Victoria” $about $75,000 a week
Yul Brenner “The King and I” (final national tour) 50 percent of gross
Carol Channing (1996 revival of “Hello, 10 percent of gross
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