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WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Last Edit: nyc23 10:09 pm EDT 05/27/23
Posted by: nyc23 10:09 pm EDT 05/27/23

According to the Hollywood Reporter. Do we know which nominees this will impact?
Link Hollywood Reporter
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Update on the contents of the email to WGA members
Posted by: ryhog 11:07 am EDT 05/30/23
In reply to: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - nyc23 10:09 pm EDT 05/27/23

Broadway News quotes from the email, which it obtained. Linked below. (not sure if this is behind a paywall or not.) The salient points are (1) that it is "asking" [not telling, but it likely makes no difference] (2) members [not just nominated ones as THR said] "not to attend," because "this is still a television production on a struck network." The article also clarifies that the production has agreed to pre-taped acceptance speeches, which in turn makes it clear that the production is not being left in the dark.
Link Broadway News
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How does depriving a nominee/winner an acceptance speech help this strike?
Posted by: charles1055 01:30 am EDT 05/29/23
In reply to: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - nyc23 10:09 pm EDT 05/27/23

This seems detrimental to the nominees who are member of the WGA.

IMHO more productive demands:

1) That if a WGA member wins they publicize and/or discuss the strike and broadcast the issue on the teleacast
2) That in exchange for the protest waiver the Tonys agree to include the WGA members in future broadcasts
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It specifically says they can pre-tape acceptance speeches
Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 07:00 am EDT 05/29/23
In reply to: How does depriving a nominee/winner an acceptance speech help this strike? - charles1055 01:30 am EDT 05/29/23

Clearly, the point is to demonstrate that writers are standing in solidarity with those on the picket lines.
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re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Posted by: lowwriter 01:30 pm EDT 05/28/23
In reply to: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - nyc23 10:09 pm EDT 05/27/23

Tony Kushner isn’t nominated but he is probably a member. I wonder if Tom Stoppard is, perhaps not.
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re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 01:55 pm EDT 05/28/23
In reply to: re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - lowwriter 01:30 pm EDT 05/28/23

Yes, Stoppard has been a member since Shakespeare in Love.
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re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Posted by: ryhog 02:39 pm EDT 05/28/23
In reply to: re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - MockingbirdGirl 01:55 pm EDT 05/28/23

and Kushner, of course, has a ton of writing credits.
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re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Posted by: JohninChicago 06:18 pm EDT 05/28/23
In reply to: re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - ryhog 02:39 pm EDT 05/28/23

Quite a few of the writer nominees are WGA members, it appears. WGA West has a searchable database of members online. I looked for all the writing nominees and found the following

Play
Stephen Adly Guirgis
Martyna Majok
James Ijames
Tom Stoppard

Book of a Musical

Matthew Lopez
Amber Ruffin
Robert Horn
David West Read

Music and Lyrics
Cameron Crowe
Marc Shaiman
Scott Wittman

So four of the five nominees for Best Play and the entire writing team of Some Like It Hot. I guess this will help to keep the time devoted to acceptance speeches short.
Link WGA Directory
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re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Posted by: kess0078 11:53 am EDT 05/29/23
In reply to: re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - JohninChicago 06:18 pm EDT 05/28/23

Additionally, Sara Bareilles is a WGA member and is nominated for Best Actress in a Musical.
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re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Posted by: broadwaybacker 02:24 pm EDT 05/29/23
In reply to: re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - kess0078 11:53 am EDT 05/29/23

I know for a fact that David Javerbaum, who has written at least two Tony opening songs (and maybe more) was walking a WGAW picket line in LA a week ago.The songs I know he wrote are "Not for Gays Anymore" and "That Could Be Me."

I wonder if we'll be seeing any original song used to open the Tonys this year. I seriously doubt it.
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re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Posted by: mikem 08:24 pm EDT 05/29/23
In reply to: re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - broadwaybacker 02:24 pm EDT 05/29/23

I may have misunderstood, but I thought that part of the agreement was that no newly written material would be used, even if it was written before the strike. So no original host-led intro or closing material, although there could be an opening number that uses an old song.

I don't really understand why the WGA would ask its members not to attend. Their best showcase would be if one of their members won and used the speech to talk about why the strike is important, rather than have non-WGA members tell us. And having the members not show up makes it easy to push the writing awards out of the main event and into the pre-show.
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re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards
Posted by: ryhog 10:32 pm EDT 05/29/23
In reply to: re: WGA Asks Members Not to Attend Tony Awards - mikem 08:24 pm EDT 05/29/23

You did not misunderstand.

I am not convinced we have seen the final iteration of what the understanding will be on 6/11, but there are arguments on both sides of the issue of what to allow members to do. A strike always hurts members and letting the guard down is viewed by some/many as allowing a crack in the fortress walls. (I am not here to debate that.) Beyond that, however, purely from a labor law standpoint, "no picket line" does not really relate to striking members. On the other hand, it is complicated. The WGA members who are nominated are not scabs; they are not working: no writers are. And the writers would not have been employed by a signatory to the AMPTP CBA in any event. (As I understand it, CBS is airing the show but is not producing it.) So I am not sure how this plays out. We shall see.
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