Hands off the Tonys | Screenwriters are striking at the heart of Broadway

[TheBroadwayMaven]

Posted: 6/1/23 at 7:09am

From today's Broadway Maven's Weekly Blast:

The Tony Awards broadcast is Broadway’s annual opportunity to shine well beyond New York City. Tourists buy tickets to see shows that won — or had great musical performances. Theatergoers who never visit New York learn from the Tonys which shows to see on tour. And the entire Broadway world has one night to celebrate what makes the art form special.

But at this year’s broadcast on CBS June 11, the talented Tonys team won’t be able to do its best work.

That’s because the Writers Guild of America (whose members pen much of the witty banter in awards shows) is on strike and twice refused to grant the Tonys a waiver. It was openly prepared to demonstrate in front of the Tonys, knowing that the heavily unionized Broadway community would not cross a picket line.

Please note that the WGA isn’t a Broadway union. Its members write for screens, not stages. To be fair, screenwriters have good reason to be upset, with streaming and other rapid changes in the industry making the life of the scribe ever harder – all while the threat of AI displacement looms. But that is not a Broadway controversy. The WGA is a Hollywood-oriented union that chose to make a splash in its labor struggle by essentially holding Broadway hostage.

Now, several leading Broadway playwrights including Tony Kushner and Jeremy O. Harris have been celebrated for “saving” the Tonys with a “compromise” between the award show and the WGA (which includes many playwrights who also write for screens):

• There will be no picket line;

• Most Broadway people will be able to participate in the Tonys, which will be televised;

• WGA members will stay home, instead accepting their awards via pre-taped video or by proxy;

• Lin-Manuel Miranda will not write his planned opening number;

• The previously written script has been scrapped; and

• Instead, expect unadorned award announcements, improvisation, and plenty of shoutouts to the WGA.

Such a solution undercuts the professionalism – and the fun – of the Tonys and benefits only the relatively small number of Broadway people who also belong to the film and TV writers union (including Kushner and Harris and company).

Truly saving the Tonys would have involved...

Read the rest here.

 

[sparklingtonic2]

Posted: 6/1/23 at 2:46pm

My opinion is that the threat to writers right now is existential. Studios are making massive profits off of streaming and prestige shows, and they're not passing that prosperity on to writers. The threat of AI is also disturbing. I don't always agree with Sean Penn, but I think he's right that the potential impact of AI shouldn't be underestimated and that this isn't just about writers. 

It's unfortunate that this is happening during Tony season. I'm sure it sucks to have labored on a Broadway show all year and then been asked to accept a scaled-down celebration.

Still, it would be nice if sibling creative communities, including Broadway, could strongly support the WGA. The compromise seems reasonable and IMO is the least that they can do. Personally, I'd prefer an even stronger response, such as postponing the Tonys until the strike is over.

It's unfortunate for audiences, as you mention. However, if audiences want to see great art in the future, and not crap generated by AI, then they might want to pay attention to what's going on and think about how they can better support artists, starting with the writers.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/1/23 at 3:08pm

Now, several leading Broadway playwrights including Tony Kushner and Jeremy O. Harris have been celebrated for “saving” the Tonys with a “compromise” between the award show and the WGA. 

F*ck. We will never stop hearing about that from him. Ever. Ugh. 

Updated On: 6/2/23 at 03:08 PM

[James885]

Posted: 6/1/23 at 3:25pm

It's worth noting that shortly after 'saving' the Tonys, Jeremy O. Harris was recently spotted in Cannes at a lavish party hosted by none other than Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

Zaslav, with his $245 million dollar yearly compensation, has emerged as one of the chief antagonists of the writers' strike against the studios. Zaslav was also booed and interrupted during his  recent commencement address at Boston University.

So make of that information what you will, but I think it's weird for someone of his position to be rubbing elbows with studio honchos right now, even if he was there in an actor capacity and not as a writer.

David Zaslav, who is now one of the top executives in the entertainment world, mingled with Scarlett Johansson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese at a lavish soiree.

 

Updated On: 6/1/23 at 03:25 PM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 12:36am

James885 said: "It's worth noting that shortly after 'saving' the Tonys, Jeremy O. Harris was recently spotted in Cannes at a lavish party hosted by none other than Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

Zaslav, with his $245 million dollar yearly compensation, has emerged as one of the chief antagonists of the writers' strike against the studios. Zaslav was also booed and interrupted during his recent commencement address at Boston University.

So make of that information what you will, but I think it's weird for someone of his position to be rubbing elbows with studio honchos right now, even if he was there in an actor capacity and not as a writer.

David Zaslav, who is now one of the top executives in the entertainment world, mingled with Scarlett Johansson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese at a lavish soiree.

"

I cannot say I’m surprised. 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 12:58am

A bunch of theater writers are also tv/film writers now. That "screenwriters are striking at the heart of Broadway" thing is divisionism nonsense

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 1:27am

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "A bunch of theater writers are also tv/film writers now. That "screenwriters are striking at the heart of Broadway" thing is divisionism nonsense"

It is also wrong-headed anti-unionism. The heart of Broadway is its unions. Not always right but never this wrong. 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 6:52am

I respect the screenwriters and understand the issues they face as we change the ways in which we consume media.  At the same time, I’m looking forward to a Tony Awards gathering without the cringeworthy banter that is rarely entertaining.  Am I understanding correctly that presenters will be asked to improvise?  While likely to be a little rough around the edges, this has the potential to be a more meaningful ceremony than any in recent memory.  

[Kad]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 7:13am

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "A bunch of theater writers are also tv/film writers now. That "screenwriters are striking at the heart of Broadway" thing is divisionism nonsense"

And I believe it was pointed out in the other thread that all but one of the nominees for Best Play and Best Book are also WGA members, as well are several acting nominees. 
 

You cannot earn a living by playwriting alone and that’s been the case for decades. Most working playwrights are also screenwriters by necessity- just take a peek at the list of writers for the recently ended Succession, for instance, and you’ll get a who’s who of some of our best playwrights.