Broadway marquees on Aug. 14, 2025. THR Staff Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment The union representing Broadway musicians has called for a strike authorization vote, setting the stage for a possible double-strike with Actors' Equity. American Federation of Musicians Local 802 has been in negotiations with the Broadway League, which represents producers and theater owners, over their contract since Aug. 4 and say the League continues to "demand unacceptable wages" as well as reduced benefits and jobs. Local 802 is asking for increased wages in light of Broadway's high grosses, "stable health care coverage" and more job security, including not eliminating current jobs on Broadway. Related Stories Lifestyle 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' Will Come to Broadway This Spring Business Broadway Box Office: 'Hamilton' Brings in $3.7 Million, 'Just in Time' Has Highest-Grossing Week Healthcare has also been the sticking point for Actors' Equity, which represents actors and stage managers on Broadway and has also been negotiating a new contract with the League. Its board has already voted to authorize a strike, if necessary, and the union has been handing out strike pledge cards to actors on Broadway, as well as speaking with theatergoers in Times Square. Still, a mediator has been called in for Actors' Equity and the League, and talks continue Thursday. Musicians have bargaining talks scheduled with the Broadway League next week. "Broadway musicians are speaking loud and clear: we will do whatever it takes to win a fair contract. Audiences deserve the magic of live Broadway, but the artists who make the magic happen must be paid fairly and must not have their jobs and benefits taken away from them. The Broadway League recently reported its most successful season ever and can fully afford to provide fair pay and benefits, without reducing jobs. The Broadway League needs to know that musicians are considering the power of a strike if necessary. Their strike authorization vote is their strength," said Local 802 President Bob Suttmann. The Local 802 strike authorization voting process ends Oct. 12, with results announced shortly thereafter. While the two unions' contracts differ slightly, an Equity strike alone would shut down dozens of Broadway shows would shut down, as would rehearsals for upcoming shows. Purple Rain, a stage adaptation of Prince's film, which is set to begin previews this month in Minnesota, but is on the same contract as the Broadway shows. The shows that would not shut down in an Equity strike would include Beetlejuice and Mamma Mia!, which came to Broadway as part of a touring production and are not on the Broadway contract, as well as the play Little Bear Ridge Road, produced by Scott Rudin and Barry Diller (Equity says the show is produced by "an independent producer" who is not a member of the Broadway League. Rudin resigned from the League in 2021 after allegations of workplace bullying). The shows playing at nonprofit theaters on Broadway, including the musical revival of Ragtime at the Lincoln Center and the play Punch would be unaffected as they are not on the Broadway contract. The main point of contention for Actors' Equity has been around health insurance, as the union asks the League to increase its share of contributions into the health fund, which is set to face a deficit next year. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up WME Major Talent Agencies Circle the Wagons As Sora 2 Destabilizes Hollywood Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leigh Anne Brodsky, Leading Nickelodeon and Discovery Licensing Exec, Dies at 67 THR, Esq Wasserman Hires Paramount's Former Legal Chief Sphere The Sphere's Sound System Is Coming to Radio City Music Hall siriusxm Megyn Kelly Inks New Deal With SiriusXM, Will Get Her Own Channel international Fremantle Names Boss of New AI Label Imaginae Studios WME Major Talent Agencies Circle the Wagons As Sora 2 Destabilizes Hollywood Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leigh Anne Brodsky, Leading Nickelodeon and Discovery Licensing Exec, Dies at 67 THR, Esq Wasserman Hires Paramount's Former Legal Chief Sphere The Sphere's Sound System Is Coming to Radio City Music Hall siriusxm Megyn Kelly Inks New Deal With SiriusXM, Will Get Her Own Channel international Fremantle Names Boss of New AI Label Imaginae Studios