Broadway Actors, Producers To Clash Over Touring Shows

“The last time Broadway producers faced off with a major labor union — the musicians union in March 2003 — the results were disastrous. Talks broke down at the 11th hour, resulting in a four-day strike on Broadway that shut down 17 musicals and cost the industry $5 million. Starting tomorrow Actors’ Equity, the actors’ and stage managers’ union, will sit down opposite the League of American Theaters and Producers. Both sides agree that to avoid another strike they will have to come to terms with the knotty problem of non-Equity tours of Broadway shows.” But it’s not a cut-and-dry issue, and no one really knows how far Broadway actors are willing to go to protect theoretical union gigs in touring shows.