The Tony Awards are coming up this Sunday evening (8 PM ET) as scheduled, but they will be different from your typical awards show. As the Writers Guild of America continues its strike against the major studios, it agreed to allow the Tonys to go on without picketing—but only if the Broadway theater awards show is unscripted. The show will be hosted by Broadway star Ariana DeBose, herself a 2018 Tony nominee for her role in “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” but she won’t have scripted lines to rely on as she moves from award to award to musical performance. That’s a challenging job, and it could make for an interesting show … or a very stripped-down one.
The WGA granted the Tonys a waiver to be held after being lobbied by playwrights who are also screenwriters. They argued, in part, that the awards show is critical for a theater industry that has still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the compromise on an unscripted show, the WGA has asked its Tony-nominated members not to attend, but to pre-tape acceptance speeches in case they win or ask a non-member to accept for them. One key person that might affect, if she follows the request, is Sara Bareilles, a WGA member nominated for best lead actress in a musical.
The WGA has been on strike since early May, over issues including residuals from streaming services, the use of artificial intelligence (AI), minimum staffing levels and duration of employment, and the presence of writer-producers in writing rooms and on set.
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“Median weekly writer-producer pay has declined 4% over the last decade,” according to the WGA. “Adjusting for inflation, the decline is 23%.” That’s weekly pay—but the number of weeks of work writers get has also fallen as shorter seasons become the norm.
The WGA is not alone in confronting these issues. Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, members recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if their own contract negotiations are not successful, citing “immense profits” and “lavish corporate executive compensation” while members struggle. The Directors Guild of America reached a tentative deal with the studios on its own contract—but as more information about it has become available, some members are speaking out against it.
All of this is the backdrop for the unscripted Tony Awards. They’ll be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+ (both targets of the WGA strike), and will feature musical performances from nominated productions: “Camelot,” “Into the Woods,” “& Juliet,” “Kimberly Akimbo,” “New York, New York,” “Parade,” “Shucked,” “Some Like It Hot,” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Producers and others in the theater industry say these performances provide an important boost to viewer interest in the shows. One musical number that won’t be happening is a planned intro song that was to have been written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for DeBose to perform. Although not a WGA member himself, Miranda pulled out in solidarity with the striking writers.
Sunday night will be interesting, even if it’s not as entertaining as a slick, scripted show would be. Will there be any notable flubs? Who will use their acceptance speeches to speak up for the striking writers? Who won’t be there? Stay tuned.
This week on "The Downballot," we're joined by guest host Joe Sudbay and law professor Quinn Yeargain for a deep dive into major political developments in three states. First up is Arizona, where a key GOP retirement on the Board of Supervisors in jumbo Maricopa County gives Democrats an excellent chance to win their first majority since the 1960s. Then it's on to Arkansas, where citizens are working to overturn a Republican bill that purports to ban "critical race theory" in public schools by qualifying a referendum for the ballot. Finally, we hit Michigan, where Democrats just advanced a measure to have the state add its Electoral College votes to a multistate compact that would elect the president by the national popular vote.
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The WGA granted the Tonys a waiver to be held after being lobbied by playwrights who are also screenwriters. They argued, in part, that the awards show is critical for a theater industry that has still not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the compromise on an unscripted show, the WGA has asked its Tony-nominated members not to attend, but to pre-tape acceptance speeches in case they win or ask a non-member to accept for them. One key person that might affect, if she follows the request, is Sara Bareilles, a WGA member nominated for best lead actress in a musical.
The WGA has been on strike since early May, over issues including residuals from streaming services, the use of artificial intelligence (AI), minimum staffing levels and duration of employment, and the presence of writer-producers in writing rooms and on set.
Campaign Action
“Median weekly writer-producer pay has declined 4% over the last decade,” according to the WGA. “Adjusting for inflation, the decline is 23%.” That’s weekly pay—but the number of weeks of work writers get has also fallen as shorter seasons become the norm.
The WGA is not alone in confronting these issues. Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, members recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if their own contract negotiations are not successful, citing “immense profits” and “lavish corporate executive compensation” while members struggle. The Directors Guild of America reached a tentative deal with the studios on its own contract—but as more information about it has become available, some members are speaking out against it.
All of this is the backdrop for the unscripted Tony Awards. They’ll be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+ (both targets of the WGA strike), and will feature musical performances from nominated productions: “Camelot,” “Into the Woods,” “& Juliet,” “Kimberly Akimbo,” “New York, New York,” “Parade,” “Shucked,” “Some Like It Hot,” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Producers and others in the theater industry say these performances provide an important boost to viewer interest in the shows. One musical number that won’t be happening is a planned intro song that was to have been written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for DeBose to perform. Although not a WGA member himself, Miranda pulled out in solidarity with the striking writers.
Sunday night will be interesting, even if it’s not as entertaining as a slick, scripted show would be. Will there be any notable flubs? Who will use their acceptance speeches to speak up for the striking writers? Who won’t be there? Stay tuned.
This week on "The Downballot," we're joined by guest host Joe Sudbay and law professor Quinn Yeargain for a deep dive into major political developments in three states. First up is Arizona, where a key GOP retirement on the Board of Supervisors in jumbo Maricopa County gives Democrats an excellent chance to win their first majority since the 1960s. Then it's on to Arkansas, where citizens are working to overturn a Republican bill that purports to ban "critical race theory" in public schools by qualifying a referendum for the ballot. Finally, we hit Michigan, where Democrats just advanced a measure to have the state add its Electoral College votes to a multistate compact that would elect the president by the national popular vote.
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