 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: FrankM
Date: 2003-03-10 13:53
In one of these articles it mentions that "Cabaret" is unaffected.......how is that possible? Are they using non-union musicians?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-03-10 14:23
I believe "Cabaret" operates under a separate contract.
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2003-03-10 14:25
It has been reported in the news media that Cabaret has a separate and special arrangement with the musicians union that is not affected by the current job action--therefore, able to remain open.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: msloss
Date: 2003-03-10 14:39
Cabaret is indeed under a separate arrangement because, I believe, the theatre is not-for-profit (JJM can confirm).
John, all I can say is WOW! Whatever magical incantation got Equity to honor the strike changed everything. Kudos to you and yours. It was the lead story on all the local evening news coverage this weekend, and the sympathies seem to be running with the musicians. The reporters definitely speak of the VO's with disdain.
One suggestion, if it hasn't already been done, more info needs to get out in the media about what the VOs actually are, and more importantly, some examples of how favorite shows would be compromised with cutbacks in the pit. People aren't quite connecting with how it would affect THEM.
Good luck and stay warm out there!
Mark
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-03-10 15:50
What's the likelihood of a repeat next summer when the actors' union renegotiates and 802 backs the actors?
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SJ
Date: 2003-03-10 16:35
While being a musician in Las Vegas for over twenty five years,we've gone through two such major strikes in the last twenty years. The second of which,completly eliminating show orchestras and going with recorded music.The stage hands union crossed the picket lines and failed to honer their union "brothers". I sure hope this does not happen in New York.With millions at stake,producers and hotel-casino owners want to take the show out of show-biz.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2003-03-10 16:46
It would appear important for the public, who frequently do affect strike outcomes, to be made aware of some aspects of the negotiations:
First, retention of the existing musician minimums would have no affect on the cost mix of any Broadway ticket, as it represents no change from current practice. If it is such an unconscionable and unbearable difficulty to the producers, why did they not complain about this problem until shortly before negotiations began?.
Second, distribution of gross receipts from Broadway ticket sales includes an average of about three dollars per ticket for the musicians.
Third, the pay increase sought by the musicians (5%) would add approximately 15 cents to the cost of the average Broadway ticket.
Understanding of these facts brought me to the belief that the musicians are negotiating against a group which is indeed petty.
If anyone who has opposing views would like to express to me just how they were reached, please tell me about it.
Regards,
Joh
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GBK
Date: 2003-03-10 16:51
Anyone want to take bets on how soon after this strike is settled, the producers will substantially raise ticket prices to make up for this past weekend's revenue losses?
My guess? within the first month
Hang in there JJM...we're behind you...GBK
Post Edited (2003-03-10 17:54)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2003-03-10 18:50
Thank you all for you continued support. We need to keep music alive for now and forever.
Please read this heartfelt letter by a great NYC woodwind doubler, Andrew Sterman. It expresses what many of us feel about what we have been through so far, and where we still need to go.
Visit our website and sign the petition for live music:
www.savelivebroadway.com
And call the League of American Theatres and Producers at:
(212) 764-1122, and tell them to keep the music of Broadway LIVE. Tell them you wont be back to Broadway if they kill the music.
Andrew's letter:
Sunday night, 3/9
Dear Friends:
"We've been out all day doing the activist thing. The prospects in practical terms may or may not look favorable, but ... the unions have come together for the first time in theater history, and it's an extraordinary thing to witness. There are the actors standing holding picket signs with the musicians, and the stage hands, and people can come by and discuss stuff with the cast, crew and orchestra of shows that they've seen or would like to. I've never seen anything like it. We've been playing jazz tunes on the street, the singers have done impromptu choral serenades for disappointed ticket holders, on and on. All the unions have joined the action, and not just joined, but joined eagerly, indicating explicitly to each other a deep disdain for the current generation of New York producers and corporate producers, including Disney and Clear Channel cable conglomerates. I couldn't believe what I heard today, that not only big hitters like the stage hands and Equity actors joined us, and not only hair & wig workers, makeup people, and lighting/electricians, but every union through to and including the box office staff and the ushers. The ushers, who seem to be hatched as salty, skinny, elderly, cigarette puffing theater lifers, have been nearly comically bitter in their observations of the changes in theater management over the years. At the huge group union meeting this afternoon, the musicians were screaming appreciation for these people.
On the street, what I'm finding is that there are virtually no people who don't feel some crucial parts of life have lost quality due to the corporate mindset, whether it be something like this, which is clearly a luxury expense and doesn't need to be assembly line made (don't take too seriously the producers' whining in the press that they are in an economic squeeze; profits at record levels, which is why large corporations are joining the theater game), or the growing difficulty of educating kids, or the take over of shops by malls, or the demise of ball players' loyalty to a home town team, etc. At whatever level, everyone is experiencing the loss of available quality so someone else can report more profit, which is at the expense of the culture at large. When someone stops to talk, as so many different people have over the last three days, and they think for a minute about how little the producers will be saving and how irreversible a change to Broadway these half-orchestras will be, you can see this sense of loss flash on their faces, and that's a beautiful, heartening thing. Of course, we're up against the First Amendment ... oh, not the first amendment people talk about, the one about free speech ... that's been the second amendment for a while. the first amendment is the right to make money without any impediment, which, since it is seen as a sacred right in America, falls under the protection of 'government shall make no law establishing religion.' So while the hearts of New York are calling for this to be enough of the selling off of the cultural fabric, I'm still not too optimistic about the personal fabric of musician economics: living a life weaving art music and popular theater gigs together in the way that really has been working positively for quite a while, for us and for the wide variety of audiences we perform for. But who knows, maybe our vision of calling people to stand up for quality and decency will prevail."
Andrew Sterman
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarinetmama
Date: 2003-03-10 22:27
After watching this on the news I must say while I am 100% for the musicians, yet I feel so bad for the people who come from out of town to see a Broadway show. Last year my husband and I waited half a year to get tickets to "The Producers". I am sure many of the people who see shows are not New Yorkers and are extremely disappointed not to be able to see the show they have waited months to see. New York sure doesn't need this in terms of the economy. One has to wonder if the producers have any idea what the term "live" theatre means. I liked Harvey Fierstein's comment about comparing canned music to karaoke. Best of luck....hope this ends soon for everyone's sake.
Jean
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HAT
Date: 2003-03-10 22:58
I don't know Andy Sterman, but he now, like the actors, stage technicians and practically the entire afl-cio are heroes to me.
Something else to consider: future negotiations can only go one way. Once a chair is negotiated away, it will never never come back. . gone forever. To go all the way from a highest minimum of 26 to 16 would leave no room in the future to negotiate anything.
That reduction of chairs in real terms means musicians' children getting less education and health care.
Jed Bernstein (head of the producer's organization) has been quoted as questioning the musician's right to define what an orchestra is!
Mr. Bernstein, please name all the concert orchestras in the world who play in theaters larger than 1000 seats who feature less than 24 musicians.
The greatest shame as I see it is that this is obviously personal for the producers. 350 employees out of 6000 on Broadway are musicians. Yet they are willing to lose more money through this strike than they could save by winning the strike.
John, if any of these points well made by others already is worded in a useful way, feel free to post elsewhere.
From a New York musician who plays very little Broadway, but is made sick by the suffering of his brothers and sisters in the theater district.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bradley
Date: 2003-03-11 01:55
On the Cabaret thing- I'm playing lead clarinet in that - for my performing arts academy's performances, not actual broadway :-)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2003-03-11 02:06
Thanks for your clear thoughts, HAT.
As always, you're right on. I'll forward your post to our negotiating committee, and let them use it as needed.
You're a good man!
Fondly,
John
More info from Local 802:
ALL PICKETING ON TUESDAY WILL CONTINUE TO BE ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS BEFORE SHOW TIME AT EACH PERFORMANCE.
Remember that many shows start at 7:00pm on Tuesday, so please show up by 5:30pm for those shows. You can check the Local 802 website for a list of all the shows and their times (www.local802afm.org).
Picketing went extremely well today, with more press coverage, including
coverage of strong words of support from City Council Speaker Gifford Miller
and Council Member Christine Quinn, and EXCELLENT response from the public. In fact, the public has been remarkably unanimous in their support for our cause of saving live music on Broadway.
As of 9:00pm tonight, the negotiating committee is bargaining with the
League at Gracie Mansion at the behest of Mayor Bloomberg, who has urged both sides to negotiate at Gracie Mansion until a resolution is reached. Please continue to check the hotline (212.245.4802, ext. 260) for further updates.
We are winning this battle because we are sticking together. This level of
solidarity is unprecedented, so keep up the excellent work!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HAT
Date: 2003-03-11 02:58
To recap, having spoken tonight with my parents. . . who are not musicians or in the arts but who HAVE seen musical shows on Broadway, in Canada and in Vegas.
The live orchestra is part of what makes Broadway Broadway. And by 'orchestra' it is assumed to mean a large combo of all instruments played by people.
Even if it costs the producers slightly more to run a show on Broadway than they would like, it is still well known that musical shows are the most profitable shows currently on Broadway.
The quality of the musicians who work in the Broadway theaters has never been called into question. The level of their work in a profession that is extremely demanding both physically and mentally is of spectacular consistency.
A large, live orchestra is one of the main reasons to see a musical show at a Broadway theater rather than catching the touring road version of the same show.
Although it is true that all Broadway musicals are now run through a mixing board, including the orchestras, the 'live' element is still an important element of the continuity of the show.
Actors who breathe life into the characters they portray night after night indefinately cannot be replaced by computers. Replacing flexible, intelligent musicians for machines or tapes will constrict the actor to a formulaic collection of gestures in order to line up with a tape or so as not to 'confuse' a computer. The comparison to karaoke is valid.
Each show is different and each audience reacts differently to a show. Special allowances for an extra few seconds of applause or a repeated vamp or two are easy for professional pit musicians and conductors. These are done so smoothly as to remain invisible and seamless to those who are not in this profession. You would never notice it happening.
The producers will lose this strike because they are wrong. To reduce Broadway to the same thing that the rural audience gets in a touring production or less will hurt New York's economy more in the long run than the strike itself. This is simply because it makes no sense for anyone to visit New York from anywhere to see the equivelant of a video rental. Press start and it's the same thing every time. Is that worth $100 a ticket and $150 a night for a hotel room? Not a chance.
Post Edited (2003-03-11 04:01)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark P. Jasuta
Date: 2003-03-11 03:42
When most of us think of Broadway, we think of totaly live performances, actors, music, etc. It has been around so long that it has become a New York institution. Having achieved that well deserved status, it should therefore be noted that if anything is to be changed, it should be based on the artists recomendation, and no one else. Broadway is ours.
Mark
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-03-11 13:35
I hope that this situation can be resolved. Many players who also freelance like myself are watching this one closely....without live music and musicians we are losing touch with a great heritage of performing. Broadway is truly the litmus test for the trend of agents impressarios and the whole industry!
I wish all of the musicians the best. Here in my city all kinds of canned music is used in various shows and I can honestly say this has lowered the level of performance and audinece attendance considerably!! don't give up without a fight!
D dow
D Dow
David Dow
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
