Scarlett Johansson Guaranteed $40,000 Per Week for Upcoming Broadway Role

Hollywood heavyweight Scarlett Johansson is adding a dose of sex appeal and glamour to Broadway’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” this winter. The 28-year-old actress will earn a minimum payment of $40,000 per week for playing the seductive and neglected wife Maggie, according to offering papers distributed to investors.

Though Johansson won’t be the highest paid actor on Broadway (Al Pacino earns $125,000 for his role in “Glengarry Glen Ross”), she does have the opportunity to earn more should “Cat” sell.

In 2010, Johansson won a Tony Award for her performance in Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge,” in which she co-starred with Liev Schreiber. “She’s proved her chops and they want to see how she’ll do in a starring role,” said Annette Niemtzow, a producer on “Leap of Faith” and “Frost/Nixon.” “Maggie the cat is one of the great sexual roles.”

The revival of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer classic will begin preview performances Tuesday, December 18 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on West 46th Street for a January 17 opening night.