Tootsie National Tour: Equity Production Scrapped, to start non-union?

[gleek4114]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 9:07pm

A friend of mine just posted on Facebook how disappointed he was that Tootsie, which was supposed to go out as Equity this fall has scrapped those plans and will now start out non-union. Can anyone verify this is true? Apparently it had been cast and contracts were about to be signed when the rug was pulled out from under the entire thing.

[GrantGrant]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 9:20pm

I hope not, I was really looking forward to seeing this tour.

[Broadway Buddy]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 9:26pm

GrantGrant said: "I hope not, I was really looking forward to seeing this tour."

Agreed. I was about to take a three hour trip to Boston just to see it because it is not coming near me. 

[Mm882]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 9:29pm

This unfortunately is true. I have a friend who was cast and is sad now.

Updated On: 5/4/20 at 09:29 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 9:36pm

Might just be a cost-saving thing if the tour never goes out this coming season.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 9:41pm

Confirmed by Kristy Cates and Donna Vivino on Facebook.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 10:23pm

I don’t understand how they are losing money? Aren’t the houses are presold with subscriptions? Why would they replace the cast? Does Equity want more safety precautions or something?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 10:31pm

This is a public FB status update, so:
https://www.facebook.com/nchernicoff/posts/10216375791015588?__tn__=H-R

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 10:59pm

are you folks seriously laboring under the mis-impression that ANY tour is going out this fall? LOL

[ArtMan]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 11:07pm

Reading the Facebook comments, one poster wrote what the salaries were gonna be.  Really low in my opinion.  They also have to share their hotel room with another.  The per diem seemed low also.  When the nonequity tour of Rent came to my city, last year, an actor newly hired to cover Collins sat next to me and we chatted about life on tour.  (I have always been curious about this and "luckily" for him he got a really nosy person asking him the questions.)  He told me that they each got a private hotel room and didn't have to share.  Although I never mentioned salaries, he mentioned per diums.  If I remember correctly his was quite higher than what was posted about Tootsie.  The cast in my opinion were all very young.  So it is probably obvious that some tour productions treat and pay their employees much better than others.  Feel free to rebuttal  if I am wrong.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 5/4/20 at 11:07pm

double

Updated On: 5/4/20 at 11:07 PM

[Broadway Buddy]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 10:05am

Natalie Charles Ellis just put on her Instagram that she is very frustrated. She got cast as Sandy when it was equity. Of course she’s upset. I’m sure everyone is devastated. So yeah. This whole thing is true.

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 10:30am

ughh. I got upset this wasn't coming to Philly and was planning on maybe taking  a trip to the nearest stop. Glad i saw the full OBC last year right after it opened (then bumped into Sarah Stiles on the street a few weeks later who was lovely) 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 10:40am

Here's the link to her post, Broadway Buddy:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_zptG4DGjD/

[markypoo]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 11:25am

But Troika is also producing the MFL tour, and it has Equity actors in it.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 11:36am

It's a VERY ****ty thing.

RE: HOUSING AND PER DIEMS: Double occupancy rooms is *very* standard on tour, regardless of AEA or Non-AEA. The chief difference being that on *most* AEA tour tiers, you are given a choice of two company hotels and a choice to share a room or have your own room... your choice determines how much Per Diem you receive as the housing cost is deducted... or you may take the full Per Diem and find your own housing. The Per Diem listed for this casting call is low, but the housing is provided by the producer separately, so it would balance out *somewhat*

The thing that really strikes me on these salaries is that they are offering overage payments to the cast... it's not NEARLY equitable (pun intended) to the overages called for by AEA SETA agreements.

RE: TOUR HOUSE SUBSCRIPTIONS = PRE-SOLD AUDIENCES: Tour financing is actually somewhat complicated and that pre-sold subscription has very little to do with how these things are determined. I'd be happy to TRY to explain that in another post.

It's VERY ****ty. Some people already had signed contracts and Stage Management and Company Management had been engaged for a little while. There ARE provisions for pulling the plug on a show, so I am curious to see where this falls with AEA membership... and I am REALLY curious - and scared - to see the numbers that made them make this choice... and I bet a hefty portion of the blame for this goes to the local presenters and not just squarely on Troika's shoulders.

[matt1982]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 11:43am

markypoo said: "But Troika is also producing the MFL tour, and it has Equity actors in it."

I think Troika does both equity and non equity tours.

 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 11:46am

I doubt it goes up anyways considering the pandemic. The tour, equity or not, should be postponed until 2021-2022.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 11:46am

LizzieCurry said: "This is a public FB status update, so:
https://www.facebook.com/nchernicoff/posts/10216375791015588?__tn__=H-R"

While I completely understand being upset at this and it's completely shady and ridiculous, given that 50,000+ Equity members are out of work right now and are going to be looking for jobs whenever things reopen, not sure if blasting any show as "transphobic crap" (whether accurate or not) is the smartest business decision one could make.

[matt1982]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 11:46am

Do we know the equity status of other tours meant to go out this fall?  The Cher Show (also rumored to be scrapped), Pretty Woman, Ain't Too Proud, Oklahoma, Hadestown.

We know 1776 is Equity.  I assume Aida will be as it's meant to start at Paper Mill.  

 

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 12:09pm

matt1982 said: "Do we know the equity status of other tours meant to go out this fall? The Cher Show (also rumored to be scrapped), Pretty Woman, Ain't Too Proud, Oklahoma, Hadestown.

We know 1776 is Equity. I assume Aida will be as it's meant to start at Paper Mill.

"

Ain’t Too Proud, Hadestown and Oklahoma are all equity. Not sure about The Cher Show or Pretty Woman. I’m assuming To Kill a Mockingbird will be equity.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 12:48pm

not sure if blasting any show as "transphobic crap" (whether accurate or not) is the smartest business decision one could make.

It's not smart and the show is not transphobic in the least, whomever says that has never seen it.

 I don't know who this rando is, but trashing a Broadway show when she is a stage manager on Broadway is incredibly stupid. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 1:58pm

How unfortunate, but I’m sure this is not the last show to go this route. Who’s to say how much longer the wicked or Hamilton tour will stay on their production contracts.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 3:43pm

It’s the fact that a nonunion tour is going to do a sit down in some major markets for weeks and charging the same as Wicked etc but with a smaller physical production. It’s not a matter of talent, but the overall production elements being cheaper.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 5/5/20 at 4:15pm

SouthernCakes, don't blame Troika for that - blame the ROAD PRESENTERS. That is their doing. People LOVE getting riled about this and rail against the show's producer when, in fact, the real culprit is the local road presenters and they are getting away with minimal blow back.