Broadway braces for first strike in decades

Actors' Equity warns 32 shows could shut as health fund deficit looms

NEW YORK:

Broadway faces the prospect of going dark as Actors' Equity, the union representing more than 900 performers and stage managers, warned it is preparing to strike after failing to reach a new labour contract with the Broadway League.

The move threatens to shut down 32 productions just as New York's theatre season approaches its peak. The three-year contract between the union and the League, which represents theatre owners, producers and operators, expired on September 28.

At the centre of the dispute is healthcare funding. Equity leaders say the Broadway League's contribution to the union's health insurance plan has remained stagnant for over a decade and is projected to fall into deficit by May next year.

Al Vincent Jr, the union's executive director and lead negotiator, said Broadway's contribution lags behind even smaller regional theatres. "Asking our employers to care for our bodies, and to pay their fair share toward our health insurance is not only reasonable and necessary, it's an investment they should want to make," he said.

Equity president Brooke Shields, herself a veteran Broadway performer, underscored the physical demands placed on actors. Recalling how she once tore her meniscus but danced on for three months, she said: "There are no Broadway shows without healthy Broadway actors and stage managers. And there are no healthy actors and stage managers without safe workplaces and stable health insurance."

The Broadway League, for its part, said it remained committed to finding common ground. "We all want to sustain the magic of Broadway for our audience," it said in a statement. "We are continuing good-faith negotiations with Actors' Equity to reach a fair agreement that works for shows, casts, crews and the millions who come to experience Broadway."

The looming strike comes amid wider unrest in the entertainment industry. Hollywood writers and actors staged strikes in 2023 over streaming-era pay and the use of artificial intelligence, while video game voice actors once carried out a nearly year-long walkout.

Equity has already authorised its bargaining committee to call a strike, and last week began distributing "strike pledge cards" to stage doors. For performers like Kaylin Seckel of Disney's 'The Lion King', who ruptured her Achilles tendon on stage in 2022, strong health coverage is essential. "Without really good health insurance, it's difficult for us to do our jobs," she said.

The last major Broadway strike took place in 1968, when a three-day shutdown of 19 shows ended only after the intervention of New York's mayor.