Tax time. Is there any money in theater?

Like the rest of us, theater companies have to file taxes. This tax day, we look at some information from the most recent publicly available tax returns (generally 2012) for some major and independent Philadelphia companies.

Company income varies widely, with Walnut Street bringing in over $15 million, and some small companies a fraction of that. Management compensation generally follows company revenue.

Company Revenue* Highest paid employee Compensation**
Walnut Street Theatre $15,799,616 Bernard Havard $316,414
Arden Theatre Company $5,455,528 Terrence J Nolen $100,966
Philadelphia Theatre Company $3,945,757 Sarah Garonzik $114,779
Wilma Theater $3,692,689 Blanka Zizka $88,683
FringeArts $3,404,158 Nick Stuccio $105,000
Pig Iron Theatre Company $1,188,126 John Frisbee $42,975
Lantern Theater Company $785,272 Anne Shuff $52,000
InterAct Theatre Company $702,447 Seth Rozin $46,500
Theatre Exile $619,763 Deborah Block $18,000
Plays and Players $352,015 Daniel Student $24,960***
Quintessence Theatre Group $233,759 Alexander Burns $12,400
Inis Nua Theatre Company $189,605 Tom Reing $23,250
New City Stage Company $135,705 Ginger Dayle $27,609
Curio Theatre Company $103,533 Paul Kuhn $1,656

*Revenue is not the same as operating budget and can come from a range of sources: ticket sales, schools, gifts, space rental, and investment income, among others. Those familiar with Quigs will be unsurprised that it contributed $147,000—almost half the company’s revenue—to Plays and Players.
**W2/1099 Compensation. Total compensation with incentives, health benefits, and others can add to this. Bernard Havard’s total compensation is listed as $669,133, Nick Stuccio’s $117,135, for examples.
***Estimate

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