Chicago the Musical Appreciation Thread- Page 59

[shrekster224]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 1:10am

Awesome that the thread about Jeff was deleted *not*...RIP Jeff.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 1:12am

Actors are constantly abused by directors and producers. It's a type of behavior that needs to stop. If you're a good director, you don't need to stoop down to emotional abuse to get a good performance. It's been going on for too long. Actors are sensitive, emotional people. They work best in an environment that nurtures that. This is just so sad and it's tragic how this seems to have really been swept under the rug. I'm over the entertainment industry being a place where things like sexual assault, harassment, and emotional and physical abuse are acceptable.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 1:13am

I love it when posters like Jordan become bullies in trying to defend someone they feel was wronged by a bully. It really helps doesn't it?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 1:14am

Oh shut up, <<edited by BWW staff>> and let me mourn the loss of my friend. Next time someone you know dies you let me know and I’ll be sure to publicaly post about how it’s not a big deal and they were just being dramatic.
 

Updated On: 7/5/18 at 01:14 AM

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 1:18am

Jordan - with all due respect - this a chat board where people should be allowed to discuss their opinions. It's not a therapy circle. I'm sorry for your loss, but I really take offense to how you've been talking to me in this and other threads.  I should be able to state my opinion without being constantly attacked by you.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 2:54pm

Well, I'm quite pleased (relieved) that this thread has been unlocked. My plea was heard.   I was worried there for a while.  In the meantime, use your words judiciously and try to dispense with the name calling.  It will not accomplish anything at all.  Just agree to disagree.  

[SmokeyLady]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 3:19pm

It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. Just curious as to who the other actor is that still has a run of production contract?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 3:33pm

SmokeyLady said: "It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds. Just curious as to who the other actor is that still has a run of production contract?"

My guess, and it's just that, a guess, is Donna Marie Asbury, given how long she has been with the show.

[smidge]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 4:00pm

Pardon my ignorance but do the producers really take a major financial hit with a run of production contract?

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 4:26pm

Hey Smidge!  I don't think that there is anyone else in the current cast with a run of production contract.  I believe Donna Marie Asbury began her Broadway run in 1999.  She has mentioned that she wants to complete 20 years with Chicago. Hopefully, she can accomplish that.   With regards to musicians, Leslie Stifleman has been with the beginning of the revival, starting as a pianist.  

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 4:27pm

Asbury hasn't been with the show since the begining. She started with the first national tour and moved into the Bway producrion as a replacement. She's been with the show for nearly 18 years.

[SmokeyLady]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 4:33pm

I believe in the blog it states there is one more performer currently under that contract.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 4:33pm

Patti LuPone FANatic said: "Hey Smidge! I don't think that there is anyone else in the current cast with a run of production contract. I believe Donna Marie Asbury began her Broadway run in 1999. She has mentioned that she wants to complete 20 years with Chicago. Hopefully, she can accomplish that.With regards to musicians, Leslie Stifleman has been with the beginning of the revival, starting as a pianist."

The blog explicitly says there is one other cast member with a run of show contract. That’s why they asked. 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 4:34pm

ACL2006 said: "Asbury hasn't been with the show since the begining. She started with the first national tour and moved into the Bway producrion as a replacement. She's been with the show for nearly 18 years."

Would you have to be an original cast member to get a run of show contract? I’m unaware of how those things work, but she’s definitely the cast member who’s been there the longest at this point. 

[Tag]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 5:10pm

I think? the blog has now removed that claim of a second cast member being on ROP contract.

[smidge]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 5:14pm

I was actually curious why the director was called in at this point unless there was some financial burden or an actor was being unprofessional. Otherwise, why not just let things be?

[LarryD2]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 6:04pm

Tag said: "I think? the blog has now removed that claim of a second cast member being on ROP contract."

If someone is left in the CHICAGO cast with a run-of-play contract, it might be the last of its kind. They are virtually unheard of nowadays.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 6:09pm

It does sound like they were trying to fire him. For anyone that has seen the show this week, is there a new Mary Sunshine standby? It's a shame Chicago hasn't made a statement about his passing, but maybe for legal reasons they can't.

[Phillytheatreguy10]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 6:17pm

This is a tragedy- Period. That being said, for Bobbie or Leslie to masquerade behind the integrity of the show argument is a crock- I say this as someone who has bought in to many of the stunt casting changes over the years- If Leslie can follow the likes of Wendy Williams, Melanie Griffith, and even Scary Spice, the latter of which made quite a stir the last time she was in for her ad-libs, she can certainly follow a seasoned professional and veteran of the biz. It also doesn't help their defense that Amyra, Charlotte, Tom, Donna, and even D. Sabella all of which are stars, have been there forever and they recycle tour cast members into the production frequently- who is complacent, it is incredibly rare that any new blood hits the boards of the Ambassador if they haven't had a failed sitcom or were a member of a 90's pop group! Also, if, as Leslie claimed, he always did the part wrong, why was it never in a show report- all SM's have to do one after every show, this has singled out written all over it- and any HR Director would tell Mr. Bobbie it is not professional to discuss salary with any other member of staff- it's tacky behavior at the least and illegal at most. #justiceforJeff

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 6:21pm

Essentially all initial ensemble/chorus contracts are run of the play - meaning that those performers have to be bought out of their contracts if they aren't terminated for due cause. I frankly have always found this a bit ridiculous when you consider that, for example, at WICKED the producers have had to buy performers out of their contracts, simply because those performers have aged out of believably playing students at Shiz. But that is, indeed, what they have had to do.  It's hard to believe the Weisslers, who have made millions off of CHICAGO would balk at paying $30,000 to end a 'run of the play contract'  - I also find it hard to imagine a performer who has been with a show for 20 years wouldn't immediately 'know' what's up, and contact AEA and bargain for some large settlement to leave the show. Frankly, none of this makes sense to me. Jeff's suicide is a true tragedy, but none of this adds up to me.

Updated On: 7/5/18 at 06:21 PM

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 6:26pm

There is a lovely video of Jeff Loeffelholz channeling Barbara Cook.  This is the first time I've ever heard J. Loeffelholz perform.  https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Original-CHICAGO-Revival-Cast-Member-Jeff-Loeffelholz-Passes-Away-20180705

[morosco]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 6:42pm

Can anyone explain exactly how a "run of play" contract works?  Is every original cast member under a "run of play" contract or only some members?  If it is only with some members of the cast, what determines who gets a contract like that?

What about standard contracts?  When someone is cast in a Broadway show, isn't it usually a specified term of time ( months, 12 months)?  After that time period their contract will be either renewed or not renewed if there is just cause?

I'm guessing that  what further complicates this whole thing is that probably no one expected the show to run for 20 years?  Which brings up another thought, how does someone's age play into a "run of play" contract?  At some point will the show determine that an actor is to old for a role and that could be considered just cause?

Are run of play contracts still an option for an actor?  It just seems like a crazy thing to offer an employee.  

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 6:53pm

"Run of the Play" is an old golden Broadway era definition of an agent negotiated clause in Equity Contracts that indeed gives performers exactly that. It essentially refers to a special waiver in principal contracts, not chorus contracts. Ensemble members traditionally never had 'run of the play' contracts. And famously producers like David Merrick would fire cast members on a whim.

But -In the early 1980s after Martin Charnin took that to an extreme and fired almost all the ensemble of the musical ANNIE on Broadway, AEA changed their rules making it extremely difficult (essentially impossible) for producers to fire actors on chorus contracts without due cause. You don't really need a 'run of the play' clause in your contract as a chorus person on Broadway, because you more or less have one when you sign.

I don't believe that Equity has stipulations about 'age' in their contracts - I think the wording is essentially that a performer is expected to maintain their appearance. When a child, for example, grows 3 inches in a year, they aren't maintaining the appearance they were hired under and its a given that they can be replaced.  But as I mentioned above, I know for a fact that the producers at WICKED have had to buy out contracts of ensemble members they feel have aged out of their tracks.  

It's again very difficult to terminate a chorus contract without due cause.

Updated On: 7/5/18 at 06:53 PM

[morosco]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 7:02pm

Thanks for the insight QueenAlice.

On a side note, this reminded me of when George Lee Andrews was suddenly let go from PHANTOM.  But it appears that he was on a six month contract which over the years had been renewed over the years over 40 times.  Why wouldn't he have been on a run of play contract?

After 9,382 Performances, Actor to Leave ‘Phantom’

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/5/18 at 7:11pm

It's unlikely that George Lee Andrews who played a relatively small principal role would have been offered a run of the play contract. And he likely didn't want one. He would have made more money renegotiating his contract every six months. 

The old joke used to be that if you were any principal woman in a David Merrick show you had to negotiate for a run of the play contract. I can't remember who it was - maybe Carole Deamas - who was fired by Merrick twice and had run of the play contracts in both instances and ended up making a really good Broadway salary for nearly a decade, despite never appearing in a Broadway theatre.