The Actors’ Equity Association will distribute fliers outside the Broadway Workshop Smashing This week’s musical “Warning of Possible Strike” in light of ongoing negotiations with the Broadway League regarding compensation for work in shows in development.
Equity President Kate Shindell is expected to be present when the union posts fliers Smashing A development workshop Thursday morning and Friday afternoon outside the Kay Theater at Hunter College on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
The guild’s development agreement with the Broadway League Producers covers the development of new works, usually prior to their intended Broadway syndication. Equity and the Broadway League have been in negotiations since January 22, 2024. The current agreement expired on Sunday, February 11.
Last week, the union, which represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theater, voted to allow a strike against the Broadway League if ongoing negotiations fail. Equity is currently working to schedule its next meeting with the producer trade organization.
In announcing the strike authorization last weekend, Equity CEO and chief negotiator Al Vincent Jr. said: “We know that developing a proposal is work. We hope that this development work will lead to successful proposals, some of which have a long lifespan with many iterations, and which It can generate a lot of money for the producers. We know that there is no revenue from the development sessions themselves, but it still works, and that does not change whether there is revenue today or whether the producers are an investment they are making for future profits. This work should be compensated properly Appropriate.
Jason Lacks, general counsel and executive vice president of labor relations at the Broadway League, responded: “We have engaged in good faith negotiations with Actors’ Equity regarding development work. These negotiations have no impact on any Broadway or touring shows. The contract we are negotiating covers “Only short-term employment in the early stages of development work on projects that may or may not become fully realized products. As the consortium itself has acknowledged, this work does not generate revenue for producers. We look forward to returning to the negotiating table and continuing our efforts toward reaching an agreement.”
The association had no additional comment today. Deadline has also reached out to a spokesperson Smashing Production and this post will be updated with any comments.
Equity members went on strike in 2019 over the development agreement, then called the Laboratory Agreement, a 33-day strike that was the union’s first in 50 years. Any potential strike would only target projects in development for large-scale production.
Broadway’s plans Smashing Announced last spring, the musical — based on the 2012 NBC series — is expected to premiere in the 2024-2025 season. The main production team is Robert Greenblatt, Neil Meron, and Steven Spielberg, with Susan Stroman directing. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman write the music, and Rick Ellis and Bob Martin write the book.
The television series premiered on NBC in February 2012 and has achieved a following that has continued to grow since its cancellation by NBC after only two seasons. In June 2015, a charity concert of songs from bombthe show within the show, tickets for the Minskoff Theater on Broadway sold out just 15 minutes after sales began.
The current six-week workshop was announced by producers last month, and the cast includes Brooks Ashmanskas, Alex Brightman, Robyn Horder, Kristen Nielsen, Krista Rodriguez, Yvette Nicole Brown, Bella Coppola, Nihar Dufoury, Casey Garvin, and Jonalyn Saxer.