Arbitrator Rules No Blacklist in Vanessa Redgrave Case

An arbitrator has ruled that Vanessa Redgrave was not the victim of political discrimination or “blacklisting” when she lost her job in a proposed tour of the comedy “Lettice and Lovage.”

The producers of the tour believed that “because of public reaction” to Redgrave’s statements regarding the Gulf War, the tour “was no longer economically viable,” wrote arbitrator Daniel Collins. But they did not act out of their own “animus to Redgrave’s political belief,” he concluded.

The producers are the Shubert Organization, Roger Berlind and Robert Fox, who also is Redgrave’s son-in-law. Actors’ Equity had joined Redgrave in her grievance.

The tour, which had been planned for this summer, was derailed after Redgrave paid for an ad in the New York Times on Feb. 8 explaining her opposition to the Gulf War in response to published accounts of her remarks at a Jan. 13 rally in Barcelona.

“There is no doubt” that the “Lettice” producers disapproved of her position, wrote Collins. But he also cited evidence of economic reasons for not hiring Redgrave, including testimony that her 1989 appearance in “Orpheus Descending” folded early “because traditional support at the box office by Jewish organizations was not forthcoming.” Redgrave has frequently supported Palestinian positions in the Middle East.

The producers now plan to tour “Lettice and Lovage” next year, starring Julie Harris. A booking at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles is expected.