FEATURE > BROADWAY
We wouldn’t blame you if the word “Broadway”
conjures images of grown men in
furry cat costumes or jazz-hand-wielding women in fishnets and
top hats rather than tasteful guitar playing. But blazing 6-strings
have snuck onto the Great White
Way via several modern productions that up the cool factor and
inject some rock into New York
City’s great theater tradition.
Presently, three of the hottest such productions are Book
of Mormon, a comedy written
by South Park creators Trey
premierguitar.com
Parker and Matt Stone that’s
taken Broadway by storm; Rock
of Ages, a raucous love letter to
’80s hair rock; and Spider-Man:
Turn off the Dark, a stage adaptation of the iconic comic set to a
soundtrack written and produced
by U2’s Bono and the Edge.
Besides the obvious benefits
of having a fairly high-profile
gig, networking with rock stars,
and having a steady paycheck,
there are other perks for players
who break into the scene: On
top of the $1,545 weekly base sal-
ary (big hits bring in even more
cash), you get medical and pen-
sion benefits through the local
musician’s union you’re required
to join, and if you’re feeling
burnt out or need to go on tour
with a side project, you can take
an unpaid leave of absence for
up to 49 percent of a show’s run.
Further, if you appear onstage
and in costume or play several
instruments in a single produc-
tion—yes, nylon-string and
archtop count—that’s considered
a “double” and it brings a pay
increase. The first double brings
a 12.5-percent bonus, and every
double after that increases by
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