Broadway Musicians Dispute – Who’s Really Deciding?

Broadway producers say that the number of musicians emplyed for a show “should be left to the composer, lyricist, and musical director of a Broadway musical.” The head of the musicians union agrees: “We agree completely, absolutely 100%. The problem is they’re not the people who make the decision. How do we know? Those people are members of our union. And they say, unless we protect the minimums, they can’t work in the same parameters as they do now on Broadway, because the numbers are dictated to the musical creative team by producers.” Musicians and producers are locked in contract talks.