Broadway Journal

TONY AWARDS TO BAR CO-PRODUCERS FROM STAGE (EXCLUSIVE)

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The Tony Awards are enmeshed in a high-stakes dispute over who gets stage time on Broadway’s big night.

Some co-producers — whose primary role is to invest or raise money for shows — have been informed by Tony Award staffers that they aren’t welcome onstage at the David H. Koch Theater on June 16. In recent years as production budgets swelled, swarms of co-producers have taken the stage when awards were handed out for the categories of best musical, play, musical revival and play revival.Continue Reading

DECLINING SALES MUTE SEASON’S CURTAIN CALL

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The frenetic 2023-24 Broadway season officially ended Sunday. Notwithstanding encouraging results this Spring amid back-to-back openings ahead of the Tony Award nominations, industry statistics indicate a stalled recovery from the pandemic.

Broadway recorded 2023-24 attendance of 12.3 million, which was little changed from the previous season and down 17 percent from 2018-19, the last full season before the industry shutdown. Box office grosses in 2023-24 dropped 2.4 percent to $1.54 billion, according to the Broadway League, the trade association of theater owners and producers. That’s the lowest since 2016-17, not counting seasons that were partially or entirely cancelled due to the pandemic.Continue Reading

JEREMY O. HARRIS LANDS STARRING ROLE AT WILLIAMSTOWN (EXCLUSIVE)

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In an out-of-the-box hire to revive one of the nation’s preeminent summer theaters, the playwright, producer and actor Jeremy O. Harris has been tapped to program the Williamstown Theatre Festival, a person familiar with the company said.

The 34-year-old Slave Play  playwright will lead a “creative collective” at the 70-year-old Western Massachusetts institution, which in recent years has been a prime tryout venue for Broadway. Acting alumni include Matthew Broderick, Audra McDonald and Bradley Cooper.Continue Reading

‘LITTLE SHOP’ UNIONIZES, OVERCOMING PRODUCER PUSHBACK

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Production workers at Little Shop of Horrors  have unionized. Producers of the off-Broadway musical had sought to delay an election and disputed the eligibility of two crew members to cast ballots.

The vote was 16 in favor of joining the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and one opposed, according to a National Labor Relations Board filing. On Friday, the NLRB certified IATSE as the collective-bargaining representative of 26 full-time, part-time and on-call Little Shop  workers, in audio, video, carpentry, wardrobe, hair and makeup. Six to eight crew members work any given performance, the producers said in a filing.Continue Reading

JUDGE BOOTS LUFTIG CO. BANKRUPTCY PLAN AS SUPREME COURT HOVERS

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Producer Hal Luftig suffered a setback in his court battle against a wealthy investor over millions of dollars from the musical Kinky Boots, a conflict the U.S. Supreme Court may play a role in resolving.

Luftig said that Nevada investor Warren Trepp jumpstarted the producer’s career — and then tried to destroy it. Trepp said that after decades of patronage, he was the one who was betrayed.Continue Reading

‘ILLINOISE’ TO SQUEAK INTO BROADWAY SEASON

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Producers Orin Wolf and Greg Nobile are preparing to move the acclaimed dance piece Illinoise  to the St. James Theater, packing another new musical into the busy 2023-24 season.

The transfer from the Park Avenue Armory — where Illinoise is scheduled to play its final, sold-out performance on March 26 — would be so quick that the show may not have time for previews on Broadway, industry sources said. To be eligible for Tony Awards this year, productions must open by April 25. Continue Reading

STAGE WORKERS UNION PUSH GOES PUBLIC

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The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which has been busy organizing off-Broadway, has turned its attention to downtown Manhattan’s most storied and prolific producer.

On Wednesday, the management of the Public Theater declined a request by production workers at the 70-year-old institution to voluntarily recognize their petition to unionize under IATSE. In response, a group calling itself “Unionize the Public” posted on Instagram that it will seek an election supervised by a third party.Continue Reading

‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY’ IS BROADWAY BOUND

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EXCLUSIVE: Four decades after Gerard Alessandrini introduced his Broadway satirical revue at an Upper West Side cabaret, the ever-changing spoof will finally plant its funny flag in a Broadway theater.

Forbidden Broadway, Merrily We Stole a Song  is scheduled to run at the Hayes Theater July 29 to Nov. 4, according to a pitch deck prepared for prospective investors. The title is a play on Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along, which evolved from 1981 flop to this season’s boffo revival, which is on the cusp of recouping its $13 million capitalization.Continue Reading

ICEBERG AHEAD: ‘TITANIQUE’ & ATLANTIC WORKERS VOTE ON UNIONIZING

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Stage technicians at the musical Titanique  have voted to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). If the National Labor Relations Board certifies the election results, it would be the first victory for IATSE in its roughly year-old campaign to expand its off-Broadway presence, opening the door for better pay and higher production costs.

“It plants a flag for other off-Broadway workers,” said Daniel Little, an IATSE organizer, in an interview.Continue Reading

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