The non-Equity Hairspray tour uses Jack O'Brien's original direction and Jerry Mitchell's choreography.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 8/25/23 at 2:15pm

Did Jack and Jerry both have to sign off on this? 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/25/23 at 2:21pm

On the tour website O’Brien and Mitchell are billed as original director and original choreographer, respectively and they have their associates recreating it in place of them.

[seaweedjstubbs]

Posted: 8/25/23 at 2:21pm

Not only did they sign off, they were actively involved in rehearsals when the tour kicked off two years ago. Most Non-Equity tours use the original direction and choreography from their Broadway counterparts, unless it’s a brand new staging like PETER PAN will be.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/25/23 at 2:25pm

seaweedjstubbs said: "they were actively involved in rehearsals when the tour kicked off two years ago."

I believe they were, indeed, involved with the Networks tour, but not with the current APEX produced tour

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/25/23 at 2:50pm

This has been going on for years. Equity just doesn't have much of a leg to stand on because all the associates directing this are Equity actors / directors, but still do this because a job is a job. It's all kind of an eye roll. Because as actors we can't work on Non-Equity productions, but they can direct them, produce them, etc.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/25/23 at 3:10pm

Adding to the above, it can also be very lucrative for a director/choreographer to have their work recreated for a non Eq tour, whether they have any involvement or not.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 8/25/23 at 9:00pm

Most Tours do, equity and non-equity tours alike, lift wholesale from original (or revival) staging. Most people when it comes to touring aren't looking to see a new staging, they're looking for what they saw on the Tonys or from clips on line. It's far more financially beneficial to use it, than to pay people to create a production from scratch. IE, the sad tour of Legally Blonde that was recently going around.

[bk]

Posted: 8/26/23 at 3:13am

I have never seen a single production of this show that didn't use the original direction and choreography.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/26/23 at 8:50am

RippedMan said: "This has been going on for years. Equity just doesn't have much of a leg to stand on because all the associates directing this are Equity actors / directors, but still do this because a job is a job. It's all kind of an eye roll. Because as actors we can't work on Non-Equity productions, but they can direct them, produce them, etc."

Equity doesn’t include directors and choreographers, regardless, nor does it have any sort of reciprocal relationship with SDC, the director and choreographer union, and therefore can’t regulate what work its members do in a different union jurisdiction. 

[windowwaving]

Posted: 8/26/23 at 9:01am

bk said: "I have never seen a single production of this show that didn't use the original direction and choreography."

The Royal Caribbean production has a similar style to the original, but is all-new choreography/staging. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/26/23 at 2:32pm

Kad said: "RippedMan said: "This has been going on for years. Equity just doesn't have much of a leg to stand on because all the associates directing this are Equity actors / directors, but still do this because a job is a job. It's all kind of an eye roll. Because as actors we can't work on Non-Equity productions, but they can direct them, produce them, etc."

Equity doesn’t include directors and choreographers, regardless, nor does it have any sort of reciprocal relationship with SDC, the director and choreographer union, and therefore can’t regulate what work its members do in a different union jurisdiction."

Which is why I’m saying it’s side eyed but nothing you can do.