In a tough time for big Broadway productions, Hell’s Kitchen is burning up the box office.
Despite its surprise loss to The Outsiders for the Best Musical Tony Award, Alicia Keys’ semi-autobiographical show has consistently posted the biggest weekly ticket sales among new musicals from the past season. Just over two months after opening, it’s paid back 10 percent of its $22 million capitalization to investors.Continue Reading
Brooke Shields is running for president of Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union that represents about 51,000 actors and stage managers.Continue Reading
Stage technicians at the musical Titanique have voted to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). If the National Labor Relations Board certifies the election results, it would be the first victory for IATSE in its roughly year-old campaign to expand its off-Broadway presence, opening the door for better pay and higher production costs.
“It plants a flag for other off-Broadway workers,” said Daniel Little, an IATSE organizer, in an interview.Continue Reading
If MJ The Musical becomes a box office sensation, Paris Jackson, Bigi Jackson, Prince Jackson and the executors of their father’s estate stand to enjoy a bonanza.
Typically, half of a Broadway show’s adjusted net profit is shared among the lead producers. The other half goes to investors, who also qualify for some lead producer profits by raising or investing large sums. On MJ, however, “the entire 50% share of Adjusted Net Profits [due the lead producers] will be paid to the Estate,” according to an investor operating agreement obtained by Broadway Journal.Continue Reading
André Bishop, head of Lincoln Center Theater, earned pay and benefits valued at $1 million in 2017. It’s likely the biggest one-year compensation for a New York nonprofit theater leader. Todd Haimes, artistic director and chief executive of the Roundabout Theatre Company, was close behind, with $922,000.
“More people who run theaters are realizing it’s very hard work and want to be paid for it,” said James Abruzzo, a recruiter and compensation consultant who’s hired by arts executives to negotiate their contracts with nonprofit boards. Those at the top who have management and artistic ability are scarce, he said. “Keeping leaders happy and keeping them close are the most important tasks of the board.”
In the previous decade, Bishop’s comp package doubled while Haimes’ rose 74 percent — increases at least four times the rate of inflation.Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Jed Bernstein, a Broadway producer and former leader of the industry’s trade association, earned $3.3 million in pay and benefits during the 27 months he ran Lincoln Center.
He took over the performing arts complex, one of the largest in the world, on January 27, 2014 and relinquished the presidency on April 14, 2016. His 2016 compensation was $1.1 million, including $252,000 in salary for three and a half months, $100,000 in bonus/incentive pay and $720,000 in severance, according to Lincoln Center’s 2016-17 tax return. The return was recently posted on its web site.
