Strike Fallout, Part Two? Opening Nights In QuestionYesterday,
I reported how
Duran Duran: Red Carpet Massacre shifted from the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre to the Theatre District's Roseland Ballroom for the remainder of its limited New York City engagement minus, of course, the stage elements.
That transfer became the first casualty of sorts of the stagehands strike.
Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.) initiated its strike yesterday against
The League of American Theatres and Producers, which includes the Barrymore Theatre.
Today, it looks like the next domino to fall may be previously scheduled opening nights for two high profile plays --
Aaron Sorkin's
The Farnsworth Invention at the
Music Box Theatre (scheduled to open on November 14) and
Conor McPherson's
The Seafarer (scheduled to open on November 15) directly across the street at the
Booth Theatre.
According to
Playbill:
[P]roducers of those shows are contemplating rescheduling the official opening nights.
"If the strike continues," a spokesperson for both shows told Playbill.com, "the openings will be changed." If those dates are revised, the producers are asking critics to hold their reviews until the new opening dates.
UPDATE (November 13, 3:42 pm EST): The opening night for The Farnsworth Invention has been postponed indefinitely.Stay tuned for the latest developments related to the strike.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Strike Day Three: The "F" Word (November 12, 2007)
Union Of The Snake? Duran Duran Moves Remainder Of Broadway Gig To Roseland (November 11, 2007)
Strike: Day Two (November 11, 2007)
STRIKE! (November 9, 2007)
A Broadway Stagehands Strike Appears Imminent (November 9, 2007)
Roll Up Your Sleeves And Get To Work! (November 7, 2007)
Now That The Union Has Spoken... (October 22, 2007)
It's Unanimous! (October 20, 2007)
D-Day Indeed (October 21, 2007)
$5 Million Per Day (October 19, 2007)
Nederlanders: On Their Own Again? (October 18, 2007)
The Broadway Theatres Not Impacted By Labor Dispute (October 17, 2007)
Bloomberg Appears Ready To Step Into Fray (October 16, 2007)
If You're Holding Tix For Broadway This Week, You're Safe (October 15, 2007)
Stagehands To Vote On Strike...October 21 (October 12, 2007)
The Shows Must Go On...At Least Over Weekend (October 12, 2007)
Still No Lockout (October 12, 2007)
No Lockout Tonight (October 11, 2007)
Lockout Likely (October 10, 2007)
Is This The One For One? (October 9, 2007)
Stagehands' Union Concedes Key Point (October 5, 2007)
Stagehands Talks To Continue This Afternoon (October 5, 2007)
No Monday Lockout (September 29, 2007)
Before The Holidays Strike? (September 25, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
Labels: Duran Duran, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, League of American Theatres and Producers, Local One, Lockout, Stagehands, Strike, The Farnsworth Invention, The Seafarer
Strike Day Three: The "F" WordWhat's in a word?
Plenty, apparently if the word is "
featherbedding" and you're James J. Claffey, Jr., President of
Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.), which represents Broadway stagehands union striking
The League of American Theatres and Producers since Saturday.
In a news conference yesterday, Claffey said that the union would not return to the bargaining table until The League stopped using that particular word to describe what it believes to be employing of more stagehands than are necessary to load-in a Broadway show. Claffey has also said that
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has offered to intervene, but his offer has been declined.
According to
Playbill, Claffey also said:
"[The League] tried to provoke us to strike for weeks and weeks and weeks. Why do you implement on a group that you know is capable of taking you on if you don't want them to strike? They wanted public support. . . They implemented on us without bargaining. There's no honor in that. None.
I ask for [the theatregoing public's] understanding. We're fighting for our lives, just as I expect they would [fight for theirs]. . . . This isn't just about us. This is about a middle class job that we're trying to protect. We suggest to the public that's trying to pay for that ticket -- we're trying to keep our wages so we can afford that same ticket that they have to pay for.
We're not going back to the table with that lack of respect. . . . We can't negotiate under those circumstances. . . If I keep seeing featherbedding in the paper, it's just going to enrage my members.
[A]s the shows get so much bigger, they get so much harder [to work], and my members are getting hurt. I can't deal with [the producers'] bottom line, I have to deal with the protection of my members. If there's a four-person piece that needs to be moved, [the producers are] going to want to do it with three. And, I can't count on them because our relationship is not the same as it used to be because their bottom line is more important than keeping the people safe in our theatre.
Right now if you have 32 stagehands on a load-in . . . it requires if you start the call at 8 am and you go to midnight, all 32 stay on from 8 to midnight. We said at 5 o'clock, you can reduce that number to a minimum number that we've decided. They want that minimum number to be lower.
We have made [other] compromises. It's just never enough. We've granted 9 or 10 things. They want 30 or 40. They cannot go through our contract after 121 years in one negotiation and just annihilate us.
We need to defend our families, and we took action. I'm very proud of what my members have chosen to do, and I'm even more proud of our brothers and sisters out there, who understand what we need to do. . . They know it's going to be them next. They're going to go after you if you're not able to protect yourself. I want to demonstrate to everyone in the theatrical community we're going to defend ourselves, and when you need to defend yourselves, we're going to be there with you. . . . We are going to come back to the table at some point. Broadway has to continue, and we know that.
We have an $88,000 annual salary [for department heads at each theatre]. . . if they're working that week. . . .[You] can't say an average salary unless you know exactly how many weeks you're working . . .The $150,000/$1600,000 that I heard yesterday [at the producers' press conference] is not factual. If you build in more hours and you work more time, you can accrue more earnings . . . The majority of people that work in the theatres from Local one [are making] $67,000. We're not going to apologize for the talent and skill that we bring to the table.
Not to be outdone,
The League issued a statement from its Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin after the news conference that said in part:
Local One, IATSE, the stagehands union, has shut down Broadway. They left the negotiating table and abruptly went on the picket line. They refused to budge on nearly every issue, protecting wasteful, costly and indefensible rules that are embedded like dead weights in contracts so obscure and old that no one truly remembers how, when or why they were introduced. The union wants you to believe they are the victims, the little guys.
We have the highest regard and respect for our stagehands. But, they are not, as the Union leadership characterizes them, the typical "little guys" as far as compensation is concerned. Their "average annual earnings," in salary and benefits, is more than $150,000, with many stagehands earning more than $200,000.
*They are professionals and should be well paid, and will remain the best paid in this industry in the world. We simply don't want to be compelled to hire more workers than needed and pay them when there is no work for them to do.
For example:
- It takes a few minutes to move a piano, but we are forced to pay stagehands for four hours of work. As a result, over the course of a year, many stagehands add another $50,000 dollars to their six figure salaries from moving pianos or mopping floors.
- Head Electricians earn a six figure salary, but their contract only permits them to work a total of 80 minutes a week.
- A flyman making $160,000 annually in salary and benefits is required for all productions, even when there is no fly cue in the production and no flyman is needed.
- We are required to keep the same number of workers loading in a show as hired on day one for the entire load-in process regardless of how many workers are subsequently needed.
- We have offered a significant raise in wages, but the union says there will be a cut in wages. The only explanation is that this would be the result of fewer people being paid for not working.
These issues can only be resolved at the bargaining table, not on the picket line. We remain prepared to meet 24/7 until we reach an acceptable agreement.
OK League. Stop using the "F" word and get back to the bargaining table.
In other developments,
Duran Duran moved its show to Roseland Ballroom yesterday.
For the list of shows that remain open during the strike, click
here.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Union Of The Snake? Duran Duran Moves Remainder Of Broadway Gig To Roseland (November 11, 2007)
Strike: Day Two (November 11, 2007)
STRIKE! (November 9, 2007)
A Broadway Stagehands Strike Appears Imminent (November 9, 2007)
Roll Up Your Sleeves And Get To Work! (November 7, 2007)
Now That The Union Has Spoken... (October 22, 2007)
It's Unanimous! (October 20, 2007)
D-Day Indeed (October 21, 2007)
$5 Million Per Day (October 19, 2007)
Nederlanders: On Their Own Again? (October 18, 2007)
The Broadway Theatres Not Impacted By Labor Dispute (October 17, 2007)
Bloomberg Appears Ready To Step Into Fray (October 16, 2007)
If You're Holding Tix For Broadway This Week, You're Safe (October 15, 2007)
Stagehands To Vote On Strike...October 21 (October 12, 2007)
The Shows Must Go On...At Least Over Weekend (October 12, 2007)
Still No Lockout (October 12, 2007)
No Lockout Tonight (October 11, 2007)
Lockout Likely (October 10, 2007)
Is This The One For One? (October 9, 2007)
Stagehands' Union Concedes Key Point (October 5, 2007)
Stagehands Talks To Continue This Afternoon (October 5, 2007)
No Monday Lockout (September 29, 2007)
Before The Holidays Strike? (September 25, 2007)
Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
Labels: Duran Duran, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, League of American Theatres and Producers, Local One, Lockout, Stagehands, Strike
Union Of The Snake? Duran Duran Moves Remainder Of Broadway Gig To RoselandIf you're
Duran Duran fan pleading, "Please, please tell me now, is there something I should know," you'll want to know that the remainder of the band's limited-run
Duran Duran: Red Carpet Massacre has been transferred from Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre to the Roseland Ballroom, effective immediately.
The shift becomes the first casualty of sorts of the stagehands strike.
Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.) initiated its strike yesterday against
The League of American Theatres and Producers, which includes the Barrymore Theatre.
The
band states on its Web site:
Fans with tickets to see any one of Duran Duran’s last three Broadway shows (November 10 (last night), 12 or 13), can now see the band perform at the Roseland Ballroom, just a few blocks from the original location, on Monday 12th or Tuesday 13th of this coming week. All tickets for Monday and Tuesday’s shows will be honored on the nights that they were originally issued for. Tickets for Saturday night’s show (the 10th) will be honored on either Monday or Tuesday. All fans will need to bring their original tickets with them in order to enter the new venue. Fans with tickets held at the Barrymore Theatre box office (which is currently closed due the strike) will need to come with proof of purchase to the Roseland Box Office where duplicate tickets will be available.
Duran Duran have spent the last 24 hours, since news of the Broadway strike action forced them to postpone last night’s show, trying to find a new location in which to present what has been one of the best reviewed shows of their career. Finally, early this morning confirmation came that the events previously slated to take place at the Roseland Ballroom could be moved and the band and crew started work on putting together a new show for this venue.
With picket-lines stopping the band from removing all of their production from the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, where they were coming to the end of a two week residency that started on November 1 and was slated to finish on the 13th - the eve of the release of their new album ‘Red Carpet Massacre’, the band are working around the clock to design and re-program a show for Roseland that will showcase their new record (which they are playing in its entirety) along with many of the hits.
Band members, Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor are hoping that fans who have booked tickets for the Broadway events will be relieved that the concerts are still going ahead, even though the production will be somewhat less elaborate than originally planned now.
Doors for the show will be at 8 pm. The show will start at 9 pm.
While this is not likely to be viewed favorably by the union, strike one for the fans.
Other than this change, the only Broadway shows not impacted by the strike are:Cymbeline at the
Vivian Beaumont Theatre (Lincoln Center, review not posted)
Mary Poppins at the
New Amsterdam Theatre (click
here for The SOB Review)
Mauritius at the
Biltmore Theatre (click
here for The SOB Review)
Pygmalion at the
American Airlines TheatreStudio 54 (click
here for The SOB Review)
The Ritz at
Studio 54 (click
here for The SOB Review)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the
Circle In The Square Theatre (Click
here for The SOB Review of the Chicago production)
Xanadu at the
Helen Hayes Theatre (click
here for The SOB Review)
Young Frankenstein at the
Hilton Theatre (click
here for The SOB Preview from Seattle)
Don't forget that there's also a wide selection of
Off-Broadway and
Off-Off-Broadway shows from which to choose, as well as the 75th
Radio City Christmas Spectacular and cabaret acts ranging from the sublime Broadway legend
Chita Rivera at
Feinstein's at the Regency to the ridiculously hard-working men and women at
Don't Tell Mama.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Duran Duran ticket information.Related Stories:Strike: Day Two (November 11, 2007)
Save A Prayer For The Morning After: Duran Duran "Opens" On Broadway Tonight (November 1, 2007)
Former Wild Boys Come To Broadway (September 28, 2007)
Labels: Duran Duran, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, League of American Theatres and Producers, Local One, Red Carpet Massacre, Special Theatrical Event, Stagehands, Strike, Transfer
Save A Prayer For The Morning After: Duran Duran "Opens" On Broadway TonightThis evening marks the Broadway debut for
Duran Duran: Red Carpet Massacre at the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The 80s supergroup will perform for over two hours a night on November 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13
Band members
Simon LeBon,
Nick Rhodes,
John Taylor and
Roger Taylor each collect a Great White Way credit as they "take audiences in this historic thousand-capacity venue on a musical journey, presenting their new record in its entirety, as well as classics such as ‘Rio,’ ‘Save A Prayer,’ 'Hungry Like The Wolf’ and ‘Ordinary World.’"
Promising "magnificent production values and a completely new stage show," this two week gig is in support of the band's new recording that comes out on November 13.
Does anyone know whether Ben Brantley will be reviewing this one?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Former Wild Boys Come To Broadway (September 28, 2007)
Labels: Duran Duran, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, First Word On New Show, Jukebox Musical, Musical, Opening Night, Special Theatrical Event
Former Wild Boys Come To BroadwayAnd now for something completely different....
80s pop supergroup
Duran Duran will play a series of "two hour" concerts at Broadway's
Ethel Barrymore Theatre for two weeks this November to "celebrate" the launch of their new album
Red Carpet Massacre.
According to their site, "Duran Duran are developing a unique show that will see them performing not only their innumerable hits from the past 29 years but also the whole of their new record and a special electro set that promises to delight their loyal army of fans."
Promising "magnificent production values," tickets will be offered first to Citi cardmembers on Monday. They won't be cheap, either. Tickets start at $75 and run up to $150 per seat, not including applicable fees).
Does this count as the ultimate jukebox musical? Please, please tell me now!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Duran Duran, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, First Word On New Show, Jukebox Musical, Musical, Special Theatrical Event
