WGA strike impact on the 2023 Tonys- Page 8

[bear88]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 12:55am

RippedMan said: "I mean, sure only 4 million people watch, but clearly winning Best Musical has an impact on the box office as evident by many past winners. So not having it televised is still going to be a big blunder to the shows struggling. The last time it happened was with, what, Moulin Rouge? Which by all accounts was already a hit and doing fine."

Nobody goes to see Moulin Rouge! because it won Best Musical. I occasionally forget that it won Best Musical, because that year doesn’t really count. 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 1:02am

BorisTomashevsky said: "The only group being punished here is the theatre industry. West coast screen writers don’t care about east coast thespians. Granting a waiver wouldn’t have been some windfall for Paramount+ and CBS, since as we keep seeing, Tony broadcast ratings aren’t that strong.

WGA granted a waiver in 2007-2008 for the SAG awards. Different circumstance, different time, less viewers, yada yada. But denying a waiver today is going to mess up a lot for a lot of people - people who aren’t even party to the dispute."

 

there is an entire east coast branch of WGA, of which current TONY nominee Amber Ruffin is a member of, get over yourself 

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 1:39am

The Tony Management Committee, made up of folks like Charlotte St Martin and Jordan Roth, apparently asked for a waiver with ZERO concessions being made, had they given WGA some semblance I’m sure things would’ve been handled differently. I blame this all on the tony award and broadway League leadership. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 1:49am

Call_me_jorge said: "The Tony Management Committee, made up of folks like Charlotte St Martin and Jordan Roth, apparently asked for a waiver with ZERO concessions being made, had they given WGA some semblance I’m sure things would’ve been handled differently. I blame this all on the tony award and broadway League leadership."

Thank you for that additional information. That was stupid on their part. Not surprising coming from St. Martin sadly.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 1:57am

I’ll just say this leaves a bad taste in my mouth, considering the perceived “hierarchy” between Hollywood and Broadway. The West Coast writers need their contracts to be protected from AI, Minirooms, and truncated seasons. But numerous Broadway shows and countless jobs will be affected by this Tonys decision.

And while I respect those on here saying that the WGA strike is more important than the longevity of a few Broadway shows, I’ll just say I’m sure that’s true for some people. Other people disagree

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 2:33am

Sally Durant Plummer said: "I’ll just say this leaves a bad taste in my mouth, considering the perceived “hierarchy” between Hollywood and Broadway. The West Coast writers need their contracts to be protected from AI, Minirooms, and truncated seasons. But numerous Broadway shows and countless jobs will be affected by this Tonys decision.

And while I respect those on here saying that the WGA strike is more important than the longevity of a few Broadway shows, I’ll just say I’m sure that’s true for some people. Other people disagree"

Once again WGA members are not just "West Coast Writers" WGA has two branches West and East, and you would be surprised how many playwrights are also members of WGA East 

[bear88]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 2:44am

HogansHero said: "First of all, no one has said at this point that there will not be a broadcast on CBS. Second, all of this "news" emanates from THR's poorly worded headline. As has been pretty clear from the get go, a waiver was the longest of long shots. We do not know that there will not be an announcement of the voting results nor do we know that it won't be on CBS nor whether it will accompanied by previously recorded performances (if nothing else, all of these shows have plenty of released and unreleased b-roll) and/or ads (the price of which will be going down and down).

Notwithstanding, it sucks that the very important strike hit at the worst time for a lot of shows and will cost even less perilous ones sales."

I agree that a full waiver was always a non-starter, but I don’t see how Plan B works any better. Why would CBS televise some random accountant reading the winners’ names, especially if the winners are going to steer clear of the event? Previously recorded performances sound fine to me, but it seems like there are questions of whether that could happen either. Ad prices would be down, but CBS doesn’t want to air a total ratings dud. It seems like it would be streamed, at best.

Updated On: 5/13/23 at 02:44 AM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 3:17am

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Sally Durant Plummer said: "I’ll just say this leaves a bad taste in my mouth, considering the perceived “hierarchy” between Hollywood and Broadway. The West Coast writers need their contracts to be protected from AI, Minirooms, and truncated seasons. But numerous Broadway shows and countless jobs will be affected by this Tonys decision.

And while I respect those on here saying that the WGA strike is more important than the longevity of a few Broadway shows, I’ll just say I’m sure that’s true for some people. Other people disagree"

Once again WGA members are not just "West Coast Writers" WGA has two branches West and East, and you would be surprised how many playwrights are also members of WGA East"

Yes, I’m aware.

[bear88]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 4:12am

OK, here’s my grim outlook for the shows that will be damaged most (and least) by no Tony Awards telecast:

Biggest losers: New musicals that don’t win Best Musical, especially those that might appeal to tourists who actually watch the show or hear about it. Also, shows without stars: Some Like it Hot, Shucked, New York, New York, & Juliet, Camelot - These musicals won’t have the free publicity of a possibly stellar live performance.

Also a loser: Best Musical favorite Kimberly Akimbo. It could clean up, and will be able to tout that, but a night introducing the musical to the nation just won’t happen. Maybe I’m overrating the damage, but it sure seems like a lost opportunity 

A little damage: Sweeney Todd and Parade. The latter is scheduled to close in early August. The former has been doing very well, but one of those musicials is likely to win Best Revival and both were going to perform and remind people they feature stars (to varying degrees). It’s still not totally clear if Sweeney Todd will have enough familiarity and star power to overcome the cliff that plagues some revivals after a few months. But both shows will lose a chance to promote themselves.

No damage: Plays. They’re all closing anyway.

Possible beneficiaries: Long-running musicals and new shows. Less competition? I doubt it will matter.
 

Updated On: 5/14/23 at 04:12 AM

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 4:30am

Kad said: "If a single annual prime time informercial that only 4 million people watch live is such a make or break event for Broadway, then the industry has so many more issues to grapple with than whether these awards will happen this year or not."

This is so true, it reveals a larger issue with the fact that in a post-covid world people are not returning to Broadway at the prices from before, and production costs continue to rise. It's hard to produce art when the audience is not coming back. 

There are specific shows that have been papering to the college age group that are also nominated for best musical. This is a really bad sign: They give us these tickets but the word of mouth isn't turning into real life sales. I've seen 18 of the shows offered this seasons (some multiple times), yet more than half were free, and the only two I paid over $50 for were Parade (off-broadway, at full price) and Parade (on Broadway, at TKTS). I'm not an industry insider at all. It's not safe for shows if they need people in seats that badly.

This was not a weak season at all; the revivals are stacked (especially Sweeney versus Parade). Shucked and SLIH have great online marketing going. Tony nominations are up on the marquees and it likely does help sales however there is a more fundemantal issue here that puts far more at stake.

If the Tony's are such a make or break TV event for Broadway shows, without the broadcast those best musical nominees that are papering won't make it to the delayed broadcast and the press release won't save them. Nothing can save them unless Broadway can find a way to get paying bodies back into the seats instead of selling their seats for the same price as a movie at AMC with a popcorn.

This isn't to specifically target you Kad, but you are absolutely right. Artists are suffering when they lose their jobs on Broadway without this broadcast due to the WGA strike, but it's a symptom of a foundational issue artists face post-covid to get employment and remain employed. There was no winning for this.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 7:43am

A decision on the awards will come Monday according to the Playbill article.

Playbill article

 

Reports point to two likely outcomes for the Tony Awards, either postponing the ceremony until the strike has ended or announcing winners in a small, non-televised reception. A choice between these plans is expected Monday.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 8:02am

Can Kimberly and Some Like It Hot and Shucked hold off if the awards are delayed?

Maybe, it's better to give the awards out on the scheduled date - rather than shows keep losing money hoping for a win. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 8:04am

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "The only group being punished here is the theatre industry. West coast screen writers don’t care about east coast thespians. Granting a waiver wouldn’t have been some windfall for Paramount+ and CBS, since as we keep seeing, Tony broadcast ratings aren’t that strong.

WGA granted a waiver in 2007-2008 for the SAG awards. Different circumstance, different time, less viewers, yada yada. But denying a waiver today is going to mess up a lot for a lot of people - people who aren’t even party to the dispute."



there is an entire east coast branch of WGA, of which current TONY nominee Amber Ruffin is a member of, get over yourself

"

Show me where I said anything about east coast writers. 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 8:49am

Anyone blaming the WGA and not the greedy studios is insane. This is a rough situation for the shows that need it, but the right decision.

Almost all of the Book of a Musical nominees are members of the WGA.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 9:09am

Mr. Wormwood said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "The only group being punished here is the theatre industry. West coast screen writers don’t care about east coast thespians. Granting a waiver wouldn’t have been some windfall for Paramount+ and CBS, since as we keep seeing, Tony broadcast ratings aren’t that strong.

WGA granted a waiver in 2007-2008 for the SAG awards. Different circumstance, different time, less viewers, yada yada. But denying a waiver today is going to mess up a lot for a lot of people - people who aren’t even party to the dispute."

That's what I keep coming back to and why I'm disappointed a waiver wasn't granted. I get the need to be disruptive. But this doesn't hurt or disrupt CBS or Paramount one lick. It hurts Broadway and the unions within it. Disappointing."

All of the theater unions vocally support WGA’s strike. The theater unions support this strike because this strike is tangentially also about them. And they support this strike because DGA and SAG also have their contracts expire and will be negotiating within the next few weeks and the early signs point to those negotiations also having a likelihood of breaking down. And you know who’s a member of SAG?  Basically every single actor nominated for a Tony. Not many people work exclusively in theatre anymore. And that goes for folks down the line, onstage and offstage. 
 

There is no longer a distinct separation between theatre and TV/screen as industries. The players are now more or less the same body of people. The solidarity between all the unions here is unprecedented and something to be applauded. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 9:11am

IdinaBellFoster said: "Almost all of the Book of a Musical nominees are members of the WGA."

Makes it seem even more egregious to me. Denying their own members the annual platform for international recognition. Plus all the other unions involved. “Thanks for the solidarity so far, everyone! Now fu<k you!”

[Kad]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 9:19am

BorisTomashevsky said: "IdinaBellFoster said: "Almost all of the Book of a Musical nominees are members of the WGA."

Makes it seem even more egregious to me. Denying their own members the annual platform for international recognition. Plus all the other unions involved. “Thanks for the solidarity so far, everyone! Now fu"

As opposed to… what? The theater unions saying, “our solidarity is conditional on you undermining your strike to let our award show happen”? That is not how this works. 

 

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 9:20am

ACL2006 said: "A decision on the awards will come Monday according to the Playbill article.

Playbill article



Reports point to two likely outcomes for the Tony Awards, either postponing the ceremony until the strike has ended or announcing winners in a small, non-televised reception. A choice between these plans is expected Monday."

It'll most likely be delayed until further notice or cancelled. A non-televised reception is pretty pointless since the Tonys not only recognizes everyone's work but it's also a way of exposure for musicals. 

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 9:39am

JSquared2 said: "DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "https://www.justjared.com/2023/05/12/wga-denies-waiver-for-tony-awards-2023-show-wont-air-as-planned/

it’s official. It’s not being broadcast!

At least they don’t have to figure out the logistics in getting everyone to and from and back and forth and to and from and back and forth to Washington Heights!"


Your insight never fails to amuse."

im here for the laughs, man.

 

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 9:51am

I don’t like the argument that only 4 million people watch the Tony Awards so who cares if they’re not being broadcast?  The people that work on the shows and the producers and the fans of live theatre care. Some of the shows that need a life line (Kimberly, SLIH), need the advertisement if only to keep the paychecks being cashed for 3 more weeks.  I wish a waiver was granted. It’s a shame. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 10:00am

Kad said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "IdinaBellFoster said: "Almost all of the Book of a Musical nominees are members of the WGA."

Makes it seem even more egregious to me. Denying their own members the annual platform for international recognition. Plus all the other unions involved. “Thanks for the solidarity so far, everyone! Now fu"

As opposed to… what? The theater unions saying, “our solidarity is conditional on you undermining your strike to let our award show happen”? That is not how this works.

"

Sure, but a bone could have been thrown to an industry that is still struggling to return to its full power. There’s no calculator for this, and no one owes anyone anything, but I think a more circumspect view could have been taken with this - especially since they’ve granted waivers before and denied this one. 

[jesse benet]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 11:19am

As someone who works in the industry, I think the people who are saying “only so-and-so many people watch the Tonys anyway/no one sees a show because it won Tonys”  have a narrow view of theater marketing: of course social media, news publications, word-of-mouth, digital advertisements both during AND after the telecast make it widely known who won awards, along with the performances of the night being shared up and down (who here actually watched the BAFTAs live instead of just seeing Arianna DeBose’s opening number plastered across the web?) – I think it’s also too easy to say “no one goes to see Moulin Rouge because it won so many Tonys” when your frame of reference is… yourself and your friends and not the million+ of people who’ve seen the show and may have thought it a jukebox garbage fire before knowing it was heavily awarded.

I think before the waiver denial, the Wing would’ve done everything in their power to avoid a postponement cuz, as mentioned before, these awards do generate buzz even if the buzz is incredibly low (Paradise Square managed to stay afloat for just one more month after the Tonys and while it’s hard to know how much Kalukango’s performance and win contributed to that, it’s pretty obvious that she created some buzz for a show many tourists hadn’t even heard of). But I think now a very likely scenario is postponing to the fall, and maybe using it as a vehicle to promote the 23-24 season of Broadway shows.

I do think it’s a bummer for the current performers on Broadway, but it is what it is. Labor grievances seemed to have been given way more fire since the pandemic showed how little industries care for their workers (and how to effectively bounce back). 

[Age_of_Mendacity]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 11:27am

For all of the people asking for televised pre-recorded performances packaged with a general announcement of the winners ... who is going to write the script for this? You can't just string clips together with no introduction or transition (well, I mean you could, but ... ), but even planning what goes where in such a "show" is considered part of the writing process that the union is currently protesting. It's just not a likely scenario when the union is so early in its battle to make the television studios feel the pain of a world without them.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 11:32am

I can't seeing it being completely cancelled. Do they just have a press release of who won then? Postponed appears more likely, but until when? This strike is expected to last a while.

[pmensky]

Posted: 5/13/23 at 11:39am

Does anyone know why TV shows like The View and the ACM Awards are allowed to continue while others, including The Tonys, are not?