How Much Do Broadway Stars Earn?

Are you dreaming of being a Broadway sensation and wondering how much that can put in your bank? Or are you just curious about the financial health of the supporting actors and dancers you see at Broadway shows are? Either way, read on to discover all.

The top earning Broadway star as of 2023 is Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose net worth is estimated at $80 million thanks to several hit Broadway shows, including “Hamilton.” The hip-hop musical about America’s early leaders won almost every Tony award and sold $3 million worth of tickets in its first week.

Other Broadway actors, singers, and dancers don’t make as much as the star and creator of “Hamilton.” Represented by the Actor’s Equity Association, non-starring Broadway performers will make a minimum of $2,638 per week in 2024. As of 2022, they made $2,034 a week, according to Playbill.

Top Earning Broadway Stars of All Time

Some top earning Broadway stars are multi-talented women who have had long careers on the stage.

• Angela Lansbury: Angela Lansbury was the TV star of “Murder She Wrote” between 1984 and 2003 and the voice of Mrs. Potts in “Beauty and the Beast,” but her heart was always on Broadway. She starred in numerous Broadway productions, receiving six Tony Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award. Angela started out making only $60 a week singing at a Russian nightclub and ended up with an estimated net worth of $70 million before her death at age 96 in 2022.
• Bernadette Peters: Another high-earning Broadway star is Bernadette Peters, who started out in 1959 at only age 10 appearing in the New York City Center’s revival of a classic play, “The Most Happy Fella.” In 1969, Bernadette won several awards for Outstanding Broadway Debut in “George M!” In 2021, Bernadette starred in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella on Disney+. Her net worth is $40 million as of 2023, according to The Richest.
• Julie Andrews: The British singer and actor starred as Maria Von Trapp in the “Sound of Music” on Broadway and in film. She’s also famous as Mary Poppins. Julie’s estimated net worth is $30 million and she made $225,000 per week in 1964 starring in “Sound of Music” on Broadway.
• Hugh Jackman: Tall, handsome Jackman, best-known as the X-Man Wolverine in Marvel films, is a multi-talented singer, actor and dancer who portrayed Harold Hill in “The Music Man” on Broadway between 2021 and 2023. Hugh earned $100,000 per week base pay in “The Music Man,” according to Playbill, plus a share of the gross ticket sales. As of 2023, Hugh’s net worth is estimated at $150 million to $180 million according to different wealth tracking websites.

Wide Range of Earning For Broadway Stars

People who appear in Broadway shows as supporting characters, singers, or dancers earn a minimum of around $2,000 per week. Stars who can bring audiences to the theater at ticket prices of $200 to $300 or more can earn 50 times that amount.  You can also earn even more if you combine being a star with being a creator, director, and producer like Lin-Manuel Miranda, who created and starred in “Hamilton.”