WGA strike impact on the 2023 Tonys- Page 12

[bear88]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 11:13pm

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

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 11:38pm

Didn't I read that NONE of the already scripted work would not be used?

 

That being said, I'm actually quite surprised that this is happening!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 12:06am

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?

[Anakela]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 1:18am

bear88 said: "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."


SAG-AFTRA covers this on its website:

Can I take WGA writing work while the WGA is on strike?
No. SAG-AFTRA members should not perform the duties covered by WGA contracts. Simply stated, you should not write anything normally written by striking WGA writers.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 1:30am

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. 

[bear88]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 3:05am

Live performances would at least make it feel like a celebration of the season’s shows, and it is the furthest removed from the work WGA writers do. If it were up to me, I would allow the musical performances to go on longer than usual, both to fill the time with quality content and to give those performances a chance to breathe. It would be nice to get excerpts from the plays too, but I am not expecting that.

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 4:11am

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

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 7:36am

Thrilled they're happening, even like this. As far as viewership goes, I can't imagine anyone who was planning on watching before will be skipping them now because of no opening number or banter or Ariana "doing the thing". You know I hate to make predictions but I'd expect numbers to be at least semi-on track with how they've been trending. 

And a friend just reminded me that the 1988 Tony Awards (Phantom/Into the Woods) were also done like this, due to a WGA strike. I'm sure it's been pointed out here already but I haven't read this whole thread. 

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 9:19am

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. 

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 9:22am

Let me add: all press is good press. I've seen the words "TONY Awards" more on the news and social media in the last week than I have in recent years. The strike may also prove to be on heck of a commercial for the shows. 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 10:10am

"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

[pethian]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 11:19am

ucjrdude902 said: "Let me add: all press is good press. I've seen the words "TONY Awards" more on the news and social media in the last week than I have in recent years. The strike may also prove to be on heck of a commercial for the shows."

I was JUST thinking this! Wouldn't it be something if ratings actually ticked up because of all of this.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 11:39am

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

[Tag]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 11:51am

ucjrdude902 said: "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."

I hope this isn't true.  We've been there and done that (twice).

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 11:59am

Damn, Ariana is still hosting? LOL

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 12:46pm

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. 

[bdn223]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 1:21pm

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. 

[bear88]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 2:06pm

Auggie27 said: ""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"

I don’t want to be misunderstood. If the WGA’s stance was ‘anti-Broadway,’ the union would picket the event and there would be no TV show. As near as I can tell, this is an attempt to strike a balance in the midst of a very high-stakes battle. The Tony Awards telecast, even though it’s an awards show/promotion for Broadway, is still a TV show that ordinarily employs writers. The telecast that emerges from this won’t be the usual Tony Awards broadcast. People will notice what’s missing. I was glancing at a review of the 1988 telecast, and the writer panned almost everything about it except for host Angela Lansbury. Oddly, there was no mention of the ongoing strike.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 3:40pm

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]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 3:42pm

Looks like Shucked was 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 which Shucked could benefit from a double prime-time boost:

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

 

[bear88]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 4:51pm

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.

 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 5:17pm

Sharon Washington is a new member of WGA East per her facebook a few days ago

[Kad]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 5:30pm

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.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 5:56pm

It seems like we are back to having people who have no idea what they are talking about talking about it anyway.

• Whether a nominated writer is WGA or not is wholly irrelevant. 
• Whether the writing awards are on CBS or not has nothing whatsoever to do with when the material was written.
• No one has suggested that WGA is anti-Broadway and that would be manifestly untrue in any case. It is also true that a scriptless program benefits WGA in its fight because (as I have said previously) it lays bare what is lost when there are no writers. It's a key point and there is a strategic motive in highlighting it vis-a-vis CBS and its ilk. 
• It is preposterous to think that Shucked's appearance on The Voice was some last minute planning. Anyone who has been awake since Shucked arrived on Broadway knows that Shucked's PR machine has been in a full-court press that has left some of its competitors gasping for air. 

I do agree that there is a decent chance that if there is a bifurcated show the writers may be bumped up. I also think there is a good chance that a WGA writer who is also a DG writer played an outsized role in making the "solution" happen. (I think we will find out who the players were in due course.) And finally, IMO, giving a show (TLK) that is the property of one of WGA's arch-nemeses a huge free ad at the top of the show is not a way of showing appreciation to WGA. 

[Kad]

Posted: 5/16/23 at 6:07pm

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.