Equity vs. Non Eq Tour Thoughts?

I agree that the quality drops off.  However, if it is the only way to see a show that I was interested in, I will see a nonequity tour.  What I don't like is the prices that are charged for tickets through who is bringing it to town.  I would assume a nonequity tour is cheaper to book.  The prices for tickets are the same.  High.  The average ticket buyer would not know the difference between the two.  When I ask whether the tour is equity or nonequity, the administrative staff can't answer the question.  I know someone higher up in management knows the answer.  I usually do a search and find the answer myself.  I wonder at times are they being evasive because they are still charging high prices, and don't want to give the answer.

magictodo123 said: "Oh my. I just looked up prices for one of the tour stops and the price for Orchestra is over $500!!! WHAT???? I don't even think Broadway charged that much (although I could be wrong). WHAT???"

It sounds like you are looking at a third party broker site.

Updated On: 10/20/19 at 11:52 AM

Support Equity.  Always ask if it's Equity.

What many non-eq shows do in their advertising is paramount to outright deception.  'Direct from Broadway' or something similar.  And the prices...  Total crap

 

 

Updated On: 10/20/19 at 01:28 PM

I do think there is a place in the market for non-Equity tours. The issue I mainly have is when a show is going out on its first tour post-Broadway without an Equity contract. That is pure penny-pinching on the part of the producers. Even shows that were marginally accepted here in NYC, such as Spongebob, could easily have qualified for a lower SET tier and gone out under an Equity contract.

As others have said, there are more likely to be quality issues in many areas when seeing a non-Equity tour, yet you'll often be paying the same prices as you are for an Equity tour despite the lower operating costs. Under a non-Equity contract the cast won't have anyone advocating for them for basic protections such as rules regarding travel, span of day, hotel quality, and even basic safe and sanitary conditions. Case in point, last time the recent non-Equity tour of Rent went to Cleveland the reviewer for the Plain Dealer noted that the cast had just come off of several weeks of one and two night engagements and it was clear that they were exhausted.

Or consider the non-Equity tour of Ragtime a couple years ago that had an "orchestra" consisting solely of two synthesizers. People across the country were pissed, and rightly so, that they were paying top ticket prices for that.

So yes, once a tour has run its course, such as Waitress, then I would say let a non-Equity producer send it out for another year and hit those tiny markets that probably couldn't support even the lowest touring tier. But I call bull when Nickelodeon tries to claim that interest across the country for Spongebob wasn't strong enough for them to be able to use an Equity cast.

Updated On: 10/20/19 at 04:35 PM

What many non-eq shows do in their advertising is paramount to outright deception.  'Direct from Broadway' or something similar.

I hear people complain about this, but I don't recall having ever seen this myself.  Not in the last 20 years or so, at least.  I don't remember having seen a non-Equity tour thinking I'd been deceived in any way.  In Chicago, I have noticed that non-Equity tours have a lower price point for their tickets and a usually shorter run.  If I saw a non-Equity show advertise itself as "direct from Broadway" or the official "Broadway tour", I might feel quite different, but there's definitely a grey area when an Equity tour ends and transitions to non-Equity, especially when they use the same sets and are directed by the same director (sometimes the same director from the Broadway production) or those Broadway productions that only offer non-Equity tours (eg Bandstand).  For example, Fiddler on the Roof in Chicago was a non-Equity tour of the recent Broadway revival.  Since I couldn't get to NYC during the revival's run, this was my only option to see this revival.  I don't feel I was deceived at all.

I've seen several excellent non-Equity tours, including those that were almost indistinguishable from their previous equity runs (Once and American Idiot, which used the exact same sets when the equity tours finished, immediately spring to mind).

Personally, I don't have a problem with the existence of non-Equity tours.  Generally, they cover a lot of markets that never see Equity tours at all, giving exposure to audiences that often can't afford to travel to the larger markets.  And they offer work, experience and exposure to the millions of performers in the majority of the country where being a member of Equity means high competition for VERY few roles, many of which are cast out of NY or LA. 

I do wish non-Equity performers received the same treatment and benefits as Equity performers, but realistically, if that were the case, I honestly think it would probably cause even more friction with Equity members.  I've had several friends perform in numerous non-Equity tours who loved the experience (one of whom received such great exposure, it did lead to becoming an Equity performer and starring in regional and international productions when he'd previously been ignored for years at auditions).  And I've definitely seen awful performances from Equity performers, so it's not like the union has a monopoly on performance quality.  If I wanted all non-Equity tours to become Equity or have them simply no longer exist, I'd be wanting fewer opportunities to those performers for whom Equity is not a practical option if they want to work.  Do I want better pay, conditions and health care for non-Equity performers?  Of course I do.  Who wouldn't?  Do I demand Equity?  No.

Updated On: 10/23/19 at 10:57 AM

I know a lot, if not most, non-equity tours do this, but I haven't seen a lot of equity tours do this. I can't think of an equity tour that's done this in the past few years."

The current Jersey Boys tour is still equity and doing a crazy schedule of many one night stands

http://www.jerseyboysinfo.com/tour/schedule.html