No more ‘Fun’ and games
Tony-nominated tyke may be leaving hit show over $$$
T HE delightful Syd
ney Lucas, who’s all of 12, will leave “Fun Home” next month. She’s been with this year’s Tonywinning musical since its workshop three years ago. Critics adored her, and she sang at the Tonys, where she was up for Best Supporting Actress.
Time to move on, right? Well, sources say her departure isn’t all that amicable. Sydney is well aware of her value, and her agents were asking for a significant salary hike to reup her contract. She reportedly wanted nearly as much as the show’s lead,
Michael Cerveris.
I don’t have the exact figures, but producers say an actor of Cerveris’ caliber should be getting anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 a week, maybe more. (If you’re not, Michael, demand a raise!)
The producers “were shocked at how much [Sydney] wanted,” a source says. “But they had no idea if she didn’t get it, she’d leave. Nobody’s irreplaceable, but it’s going to be tough finding someone as good as Sydney is.”
I’m reminded of another pintsize wonder:
Daisy Eagan, who won a Tony at age 11 in 1991 as the star of “The Secret Garden.” She thanked her agent first, then her parents!
The producers of “Fun Home” told me: “Sydney . . . has been with the show for over three years. It is time for her to move on to the next adventure in her life, which we are sure will be incredibly exciting . . . It will always be our policy never to comment on an actor’s negotiations.”
I tried to reach Sydney, but I think she was tied up negotiating a sevenfigure deal with Harvey
Weinstein.
SPEAKING of money, more on the cast revolt at “Hamilton.” Last week I reported that the cast wrote a letter to the producers of the show demanding a 1 percent share of the profits. The producers offered them $35,000 each, but the cast is holding out for equity (and I don’t mean Actors’!).
They’re not going to get it. The “Hamilton” producers can be arrogant, but I’m with them on this one. (The producers declined to comment.)
The cast never negotiated a share of the show while it was in development and probably had no idea “Hamilton” would become such a phenomenon.
They have yearlong contracts, and I’m sure they’re being paid a decent weekly wage, though they’re not in Sydney Lucas’ league.
Some agents disagree with me. As one says, “They were with the show from the beginning, and it’s going to make so much money. It would be the decent thing to cut them in.”
Here’s a thought: Lin-Manuel Miranda, I’m told, supports his fellow actors. Why doesn’t he do what “A Chorus Line” creator Michael Bennett did? Bennett gave the original cast members a 1 percent stake from his share of the show.
Seems Miranda could do the same without missing a mortgage payment.