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Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

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#1

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/25/18 at 1:17pm

I was very surprised when I saw this casting call. Granted Fiddler did have tough financial times, but was reviewed very well and was a pretty high profile revival. I do wonder about some of the recent SETA tours that have not done well such as Bridges and Bright Star; I wonder if the attendance problems they encountered may be the impetus for more things going out non-equity. But then again, a lot of things don't make sense - Anastasia and Come From Away have been huge financial successes on broadway, yet each is going out SETA. Seems like the production contract is a thing of the past; I wish the reality was different.

#2

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/25/18 at 1:36pm

I was surprised as well given that Fiddler is such a brand name and would probably sell fine on the road. I do wonder what elements they'll keep from the Broadway version - as the things that made it unqiue are things that can't tour - like the ensemble coming from the back of the stage for Tradition.

And SETA tours are complicated, it may seem like less money up front, but when tours do well - like, they make more than they projected, they give the actors more money, so a lot of times people get paid more. Had a friend on the Sound of Music tour that was SETA and they made over what a production tour would make multiple times because of that.

#3

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/25/18 at 5:25pm

Why is it a surprise to anyone that the tours of Bridges and Bright Star didn't do well? They were flops on Broadway. I'm always surprised when they tour those kinds of shows and expect them to do well.

#4

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/25/18 at 6:53pm

What gets me so upset is when they lead the audience/patrons to believe it's right from/direct from Broadway and it's a non-union tour. Just like the recent 25th Anniversary tour of Rent and 42nd St - This is nothing but deception and lies from the producers and theaters. I have no problem with the performers as many of them are exceptionally talented - but the sets and costumes look like they have literally been on the road for 20+ years and many of the cast are very young even when they are supposed to be playing much older characters. Cast size is also smaller and as well as the orchestra. - I wouldn't care if the ticket prices reflected it - but they don't !!! Audiences are catching on to this game - I look if the tour is union or not before buying tickets.

#5

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/25/18 at 6:55pm

Producers are under no obligation to cast tours with union talent. I'm sure the minimal risk of backlash (does anyone think the "Ask if it's Equity" campaign works?) is well worth the money in the bank from not paying union wages and benefits.

#6

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/25/18 at 9:47pm

The main issue, and the issue that will never change, is how Broadway directors and creatives are working on these non-union tours and allowing them to go out. Bartlett Sher directing My Fair Lady and then a non-union tour of Fiddler? Seems odd.

#7

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/25/18 at 11:03pm

So is this tour following the staging of that last awful broadway revival?

#8

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/25/18 at 11:57pm

RippedMan said: " Bartlett Sher directing My Fair Lady and then a non-union tour of Fiddler? Seems odd."

I would be shocked if his involvement is anything more than depositing a check every week and auto-archiving the performance reports.

Updated On: 5/25/18 at 11:57 PM

#9

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/26/18 at 11:19am

If it is the Sher staging they are touring with then I am curious as to how it will be received by touring audiences. They seem to be less pretentious than the NY crowd. I don’t think the framing device will fly. Of course.. if they got a very warm Tevye it might work.

#10

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/26/18 at 11:22am

RippedMan said: "The main issue, and the issue that will never change, is how Broadway directors and creatives are working on these non-union tours and allowing them to go out. Bartlett Sher directing My Fair Lady and then a non-union tour of Fiddler? Seems odd."

Aren’t most non-equity tours(or tours in general) directed and coreographed by the associates of the broadway productions creative team?

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#11

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/26/18 at 11:23am

It wasn’t that Danny’s Tevye wasn’t warm. He just underplayed it so much that he was boring .
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#12

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/26/18 at 1:09pm

Speaking Tevye, I wonder what casting will look like with this production
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#13

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/26/18 at 2:55pm

Actors’ Equity is a New York-centric organization that no one in small markets like the places this tour is likely going will have heard of or will care about.

Non-Equity tours are a great way to make money off of kids fresh out of college with their BFA willing to sleep in a bus for eight months. I’m sure the ensemble and Perchik, Hodel, etc. will be fine, but if you’re a musical theater actor based in New York, old enough to play Tevye, and still don’t have an Equity Card, there’s probably a reason why.

They will probably use an L.A. based actor who never bothered to join or is willing to drop their card for the job, like Barry Williams did for the Sound of Music tour.

#15

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/26/18 at 7:44pm

The Bart Sher directed revival is slated for the Pantages here in Los Angeles in April of 2019. Is that seriously the non-union tour y'all are talking about?

#16

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/26/18 at 9:03pm

Is it a Networks non union show? They have had a few at the Pantages. Nothing unusual.
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#17

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/27/18 at 12:37am

Unlike several of the recent Networks, Troika and Work Light non-equity companies to play major markets like LA and Chicago, this new Fiddler tour is playing minimum one-week stays in each market, with the exception of its launch in Syracuse, so expect it to be scaled more like a Networks SETA tour, 6 trucks, automation, hard show deck, etc, and less like their 3-4 truck non-equity companies. The difference, of course, being the Union status of the stage performers. It has been a few years since a full week non-equity tour has gone out, the most recent examples I can think of being the first year of the recent Charnin-directed Annie tour, and the one season of Ghost.

#18

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/27/18 at 1:12am

Papi2013 said: "If it is the Sher staging they are touring with then I am curious as to how it will be received by touring audiences. They seem to be less pretentious than the NY crowd. I don’t think the framing device will fly. Of course.. if they got a very warm Tevye it might work."

The framing device didn't work in New York either, for the record. It's nothing to do with an audience being "pretentious," more like it was a ridiculous idea that made no sense.

#19

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/27/18 at 1:57am

There wasn't much in way of "fancy" sets on Broadway. I mean, the deckhands literally had to come out and move some of the scenery around. It looked really bad. I hope they've fixed some of that stuff.

#21

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/27/18 at 3:08am

Good. I have no problem with non-Equity tours as long as they are not advertising themselves as the Broadway production. Since this is the tour of the “Broadway revival,” it should have Broadway-caliber performers and production values.
#23

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 5/27/18 at 8:46am

(and a recent casting call)
https://www.backstage.com/casting/fiddler-on-the-roof-218043/
#24

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 6/19/18 at 8:29pm

Equity has moved Fiddler to the non-union list now.

http://www.actorsequity.org/NewsMedia/touring_main.asp

How disappointing. They’re doing mostly weeklong stops, so going non-union seems unusual, no?
#25

Fiddler Tour going out non-union?

Posted: 6/20/18 at 1:13am

Def. unusual, but, if they can save, say, $800/wk on a performer, why not? There are plenty of people still willing to do this job for half of the Equity minimum. So it is what it is. It's Equity's fault for letting this slip. It's a shame.

That said, I don't see how this tour can be unique in its staging given the unique elements weren't built to tour - the flying Fiddler, the ensemble rising from the floor, etc. This seems like a pretty boring tour.

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