ONE STRIKE AND THEY'RE OUT: Victims of the Equity Strike...

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 12:34pm

Word is that if Equity does go on strike Tuesday (VERY likely) that the following shows will NOT re-open their doors on Broadway:

42nd Street
Aida
Caroline, or Change
Frozen
Little Shop
Wonderful Town

Several sources also report that RENT is on the above list as well...

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 12:41pm

Could you please source that information for us?

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 12:42pm

Recent banter --
These may be done as well:
FIDDLER
MOVIN' OUT

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 12:42pm

There was an article somewhere that said this. I posted it the other day... I'll see if I can dig it up. I'm really scared.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 12:49pm

Here it is.


NY Post article

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 12:51pm

SLY FOX and BOMBAY DREAMS are mentioned in that article, as well as THE BOY FROM OZ.

[Wicked_Elphie]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 12:59pm

Oh this breaks my heart...I don't know if I could deal with all of these closing!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:01pm

I may very well shrivel up and die if this happens.

Updated On: 7/11/04 at 01:01 PM

[Dawg]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:04pm

Are you kidding me? Are you honestly calling Michael Reidel's column in the tabloid otherwise known as the New York Post a reasonable source?

Reidel is known for his exaggeration...that's all I'll say about that.

Boy From Oz is not closing anytime prior to their September closing date...it sells out pretty much every performance.

Almost all the other shows listed have either already posted closing notices or have been in danger of closing since before they opened. Rent posted a closing notice back on 9/11, and the box office receipts have hardly been impressive since then.

If producers close any one of these shows, they will quickly blame Equity for their actions. In fact, some say, Producers are keeping some of these shows open just in case there IS a strike and they have some ammunition to fire at Equity for causing them to close. Wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:05pm

Amen Dawg! Preach the word!

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:13pm

Of course they will blame Equity if it goes down this way. And no, I am not calling Michael Reidel's column anything, I am merely sharing what I have heard. And not from the Post. (Always a reliable source, ask VP Edwards)

I doubt all of it will go down, it would give the city a huge financial tumor.

And on a bitter note, Assassins has sold out almost every show, and they're closing...

[DAME]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:17pm

Any touring shows that might shutter?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:19pm

"And no, I am not calling Michael Reidel's column anything, I am merely sharing what I have heard. And not from the Post."

Then where, may I ask, did you hear your information?

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:27pm

From a converstion between some (fellow) union members and a gm. If you have heard otherwise VC, I'd love to know that this is all bs. In spreading this news I don't wish for it to happen, quite the contrary.

[Plum]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:34pm

Assassins is closing because it sold out on rather low average ticket prices. And now I have to rush out and see Caroline, too...

[Support]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:39pm

Thanks Jamie for the heads up!
But I don't feel like Equity or the city of NY would let it happen. Perhaps just the shows that have plans to close already (Aida, 42nd Street, etc.).

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:43pm

omg this is so not cool! Why fiddler? it like just opened, well almost. i just have a question. If the strike does occur, does this mean that the rest of the shows will be on strike for the rest of the summer, or just until the strike ends?

Updated On: 7/11/04 at 01:43 PM

[Support]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:46pm

Assassins (though not the topic of the board), is closing because the Roundabout is gunshy (pun-intended) and too afraid to have another financial landslide. They'd have to take a risk to finish the summer, and after what happened with NINE they won't.

Let's hope this passes without catastrophe and those really bad non-eq tours cease to exist. (Have you seen them? They're aweful!) I apologise for paying for one of them.

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:49pm

Shows would close until the strike is over, when they would re-open again as usual. Much like the recent musicians strike. They usually (and hopefully) don't last long.

[Emutional]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:50pm

not Rent I wanted to try to catch Maggie's last show.

[sean martin]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:51pm

>> Are you honestly calling Michael Reidel's column in the tabloid otherwise known as the New York Post a reasonable source?

Nope, but anyone can access the box office receipts on Variety and see how marginally these shows are doing. No, it's not all Equity's fault: you have stump casting, exploding costs for production values, a whole raft of factors. But I'd posit that AEA is symptomatic of the problem, not the cause.

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:52pm

kk thanks!! that's what i thought, but i wasn't completely sure. i hope it's done by august.

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:53pm

I don't know much about the business part of theatre, but this all seems far fetched to me. The equity strike will be so publicized that they won't need to do any sort of massive reopening ad campaigns. There's lost possibility of profit with a strike, but it's not like they have to pay the cost of running a show that night either, so the losses wouldn't be that much. It would be a problem if they had the cost of the lights, musicians, effects, and actors to pay with no audience. I really think they're trying to scare us into siding with the producers and not giving Equity public support. Kind of reminds me of Cladwell in Urinetown. Let's hope that while Cladwell ended up being right, the producers on Bway are not.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:53pm

So what are you saying, Jamie Hat? Because from your first post, you seemed to imply (as Riedel had) that some shows would be closing permanently were there a strike. Now you're saying that "Shows would close until the strike is over, when they would re-open again as usual."

I understand that you don't want this news to happen, but I don't understand what this news actually is.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/11/04 at 1:55pm

There is no way producers would leave shows open JUST to blame Equity for closing them in the event of a strike. People, be realistic. Producers are running BUSINESSES. They can't put their own business at risk by losing hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars just for spite. And of course they'll blame Equity if shows close due to the strike. As Equity will blame the producers.