can broadway shows not renew actors contracts bc they shut down bc of the pandemic??

I know there is some penalty for firing an actor on a min contract on a broadway show (right?) which is why a lot of actors have stayed in wicked, mormon, phantom for forever bc the producers would have to pay a bit to get rid of them. Like if an actor was hired to be a student in SHIZ U 10 years ago and now they are 43 years old and are long in the tooth to be in the ENS of Wicked, the producer cannot fire them for being old unless they pay a penalty. right?
that the shows have "closed" for such a long time, would the producers be able to let go some of those actors without penalty, seeing as the show has stopped running?
Could those producers audition new actors if they wanted to and put the min without penalty?
I think it would be a stupid idea, as they wouldn't want to make new costumes, rehearse them etc, but if there was a actor who they had wanted to rid themselves of for a long time, but didn't want to pay the price...would this be allowed?

Yes, but did you know Joe Rent was in West?

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I’m not sure if the “unlimited renewals unless there’s cause to terminate” chorus contract (which resulted in aged-out and, reportedly, phoning-it-in bored actors who refused to leave in the original Les Miz) still exists. I’m guessing not after Cameron Mackintosh spent a small fortune buying most of the Broadway cast out of their contracts for the 10th anniversary. It’s a good question."

Oh, yeah. It is still a thing. And a thorn in the side of everyone but the actors in long running shows on a chorus contract .. It's called a "Government job." British Equity does not have that, but we still do... and I can't see American Equity bending on that, even though they TRULY should in the era of never ending runs.

apologies for it being difficult to read. I don't know enough about the contracts to know the specifics of it.
So then yes. A show can "shut down" for 6 weeks or more and then re-cast without any penalty.

My point being that it would take a lot more rehearsal to PUT IN a new cast member (or members) then just putting up the cast that stopped when broadway shut down. I would imagine maybe 2 weeks of rehearsal to get the cast back up on its feet and into show shape rather than excess reh to put new people in (which again would cost more money).

Also, it would cost a lot to make new costumes for new people rather than just putting the current cast back in their costumes.

Hence a producers reasoning to not re-cast all but maybe its worth it to re-cast some to get fresh blood into long running shows that wouldn't cost the penalty of doing it during "normal" times.

Updated On: 8/10/20 at 10:24 PM

i imagine a show can "close" for 6 weeks and then re-open. Its just terminology. they would re-negotiate the contracts before opening back up (which is probably what is going to happen. That anyone thinks that the shows are going to re-open with FULL salaries for all the actors and unions is a pipe dream)

I imagine that some sort of new pandemic contract might have to be negotiated for all unions involved.
What show can possibly open up without months of pre-sale to make up for the operating costs that wont be fulfilled by local tix buyers. broadway shows run on domestic and interntaional tourism (anything out of the tri state area) after about 9 months of running on broadway.
All of these shows will have to entice tix buyers BACK to their shows without months and months of tix being sold prior to the dates.

Updated On: 8/10/20 at 10:48 PM

I have a friend in a Broadway show who said his contract was basically frozen until they come back. Since he had signed up for another year in January that means that he's now technically contracted for the remainder of his contract when they open, which would stretch then into 2022. This is of course, barring any show closures from lack of ticket sales.