WGA strike impact on the 2023 Tonys — Page 12

It seems like there are plenty of unknowns at this point. I don’t know if part of the ‘deal’ is live performances, which doesn’t feel necessary to me but might seem necessary for a network audience. To the extent there is a pre-written script, what happens if any changes are made - even the most minor of tweaks? Wouldn’t that be tricky for Ariana DeBose or anyone else presenting anything? HogansHero, you raised the issue of whether that would make DeBose a writer. What will the atmosphere be like, and will the agreement hold?

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. It seems like this whole thing is going to be tough to pull off in semi-entertaining form - but perhaps that is the WGA’s point.

Updated On: 5/15/23 at 11:13 PM

Kad said: ""Broadway's still hurting..." is a common refrain I've seen here.

And yet, despite the many opportunities in the last 3+ years for innovation, pivoting, and learning, Broadway leaders have decided to opt for business as usual, as quickly as possible. The League is still led by Charlotte "Of course I know what a swing is" St. Martin, the same few press shops handle all the shows and are still led by the same people, and the same big theater owners still operate as a cartel.

Broadway will continue to hurt with this sort of leadership.

"

So what’s your solution?

Kad said: "If they were smart, they would've ensured the couple of days between the nominations being announced and the strike being called were spent writing up something minimal and usable for a broadcast."

Well, for the reasons you rehearsed in your post a couple above this one, they are not smart and the move to smart is transiting through quicksand. I do believe it's inevitable that all of these cobwebs get swept away as people die off. It affects so many things that are not sustainable, from what is produced, to for whom it is produced. In the end, it almost entirely gets back to marketing. The powers that be decided that they needed to do this newfangled thing called social media so some folks who had come up through the PR and ad ranks got involved in social media. But the premises are the same as those applied to the way things have always been done. Look at other industries. Name the top 10 Broadway influencers. (I can't name one. Yes there are 2-3 wannabes floating around but they are not getting the job done: they are basically just having fun.)

But I disgress. Regarding scripts, I agree it would have made sense, not knowing where things were going, but as things now stand, WGA has made it very clear, "unscripted." They are playing hardball, not with Broadway but with their nemesis. As I said a long time ago, this is an existential battle and neither side can lose. Unscripted means nothing that sounds memorized, certainly nothing read off a teleprompter, no index cards, nothing. Can they make it creative anyway? This community is the most creative in the world. (Will it make good TV? Jury is still out.) Anyway, that's my 2 cents. I am happy that at least the shows that need some profile will get some fighting chance to have it. Some may make it; not all will. That's nothing new of course. Finally, the more I have read tonight and spoken to a couple of people, I think we are going to have live performances. And I think that's a good thing. I think everyone here knows how important I think "live" is in the theatre.

I’m glad the awards are airing but it’ll be interesting to see if they are able to produce a show that can bring in and engage the viewers. Show performances will obviously be important, but, as annoying as it often is, it’s all the stuff in between that holds these shows together and gives them coherence.
Completely different medium, but in the UK every Saturday night the BBC airs Match of the Day, which is a football (soccer) highlights showing of all the days football action, and they have presenters and pundits giving their views etc. It’s a very popular show and an institution. Recently the presenter, Gary Lineker, was suspended over an impartiality row, which led to many other BBC presenters and staff refusing to work on the show that night. In the end the BBC still aired the show but all they did was literally show highlights of each match. Nothing else. No presenters, no pundits. No commentary AND IT WAS WEIRD AND NOT GOOD! Turns out people do want the inane banter etc. It did get a ratings boost though, but that was down to all the public furore and publicity about it. I’m not sure The Tony Awards will have the same impact on the national conscience.

Updated On: 5/16/23 at 04:11 AM

A credible source told me this morning that The Lion King is being asked to open the show as a tribute to their 25 years on Broadway but also to solve the issue of a non-scripted opening number. Not sure if it'll actually happen.

"It seems like this whole thing is going to be tough to pull off in semi-entertaining form - but perhaps that is the WGA’s point..."

Suggesting ulterior -- anti-Broadway -- motives in this concession is the opposite of the truth here. Critically, television is a multi-union collaboration, requiring employed members to perform union contract-covered tasks, from tech to directors to producers. This strike’s unique high stakes -- with decades-spanning implications for profit sharing -- have inspired industry wide solidarity. I'm in the WGA and can report first hand: the picket lines are filled with writers, actors, other creatives who are allies in the collective bargaining issues. It’s not writers vs everyone else, and this allowance for the broadcast is a fully supportive action, in no way punitive.

"“As they have stood by us, we stand with our fellow workers on Broadway who are impacted by the strike.” WGA

Updated On: 5/16/23 at 10:10 AM

So will they put the writing categories back on the air?

Damn, Ariana is still hosting? LOL

BrodyFosse123 said: "HeyMrMusic said: "So will they put the writing categories back on the air?"

Of course. The strike is regarding future projects. TV shows and films that had completed scripts are currently in production. Anything that still had writing to be done are currently on pause due to the strike. The Broadway shows nominated obviously were written quite some time ago."

I think its more so a question because of the eligible writers for Best Play and Book of a Musical only Jordan E. Cooper for Ain't No Mo and David Thompson and Sharon Washington for New York, New York do NOT appear to be members of WGA East or WGA West, and as such the question arises would they be attend the award ceremony and be able to accept an award. I know their work on Broadway does not fall under the jurisdiction of the WGA, thus theoretically they should be able to attend, but the question arises if they win are they able to give a speech without facing fines for crossing the nonexistent picket line at the ceremony? It would say a lot for winners of these awards to go up an accept the award in silence and just stand on stage creating dead air for 45-90 seconds, showing what the world would be like without writers, but I can't imagine anyone outside of maybe Robert Horne and Matthew Lopez/Amber Ruffin doing so.

Best original score does face some similar issues with Cameron Crowe of Almost Famous, David Linsday-Abaire of Kimberly Akimbo, and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman of Some Like It Hot all also being WGA members.

I also asked because Best Book and Best Score are often left off the telecast. I wonder if one of the concessions is actually to honor the writers of shows publicly. Could a stance be made live on air?

EDSOSLO858 said: "Looks likeShuckedwas all prepared for a cancelled Tony telecast - they have Alex Newell booked to perform “Independently Owned” on the season finale of “The Voice”, airing May 22 on NBC.

Now there’s a world in whichShuckedcould benefit from a double prime-time boost:

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/shucked-the-voice-first-broadway-musical-featured-alex-newell-1235613924/amp/

I remain impressed with the Shucked marketing team. They have been creative all along in promoting the show and aren’t waiting for the Tony Awards telecast to save them - although it’s a show that has a few songs that should do well there.

RippedMan said: "Kad said: ""Broadway's still hurting..." is a common refrain I've seen here.

And yet, despite the many opportunities in the last 3+ years for innovation, pivoting, and learning, Broadway leaders have decided to opt for business as usual, as quickly as possible. The League is still led by Charlotte "Of course I know what a swing is" St. Martin, the same few press shops handle all the shows and are still led by the same people, and the same big theater owners still operate as a cartel.

Broadway will continue to hurt with this sort of leadership.

"

So what’s your solution?"

There is no one solution. One person cannot address all the problems of a billion dollar industry made up of many businesses.

I harp on these issues because the real powers behind Broadway are largely shielded from any sort of accountability by virtue of the fact that they are mostly not public facing, save for a small handful of personalities like Jordan Roth (who, frankly, could stand to be less public facing) or Charlotte St. Martin. People don't know their names or faces. People don't know how the theatre owners operate, even as they've successfully managed to normalize "facility fees" and neglect their venues. They don't know how press offices operate or who is in the Broadway League. Who and what's onstage gets all the focus from the public and those artists are the ones with the least power in the industry.

Broadway at the very least would benefit from new blood at its highest levels, people who have or can build trust with the public. The employers and landlords of Broadway deserve to have a harsh spotlight shone on them.

If it is indeed true that they are once again enlisting TLK to trot out "The Circle of Life" (which would be the third time for the Tonys) then my point about Broadway leadership lacking in ideas and vision is only boldly underlined.