Broadway/L.A. season to include nonunion musicals

Broadway/L.A. has announced a season of musicals that includes the local premiere of the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp collaboration “Movin’ Out” and six revivals, at least two of which will be tours that do not use Actors’ Equity contracts.

The use of nonunion casts in tours adapted from Equity-contract Broadway productions is a contentious issue in commercial theater. The union charges that including such tours, for which actors earn lower wages and fewer benefits, within “Broadway”-labeled series is deceptive.

The union has selectively targeted some non-Equity tour stops with protests, including “The Music Man” tour at the Orange County Performing Arts Center last year and some of the bookings of the same “Miss Saigon” company that will play the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood on June 16-27 as part of the Broadway/L.A. series.

However, union officials said this week that no decision has been made whether to protest the “Miss Saigon” appearance in L.A. The second nonunion show, “Oklahoma!,” scheduled for a Jan. 18-30 run in addition to a June booking in Costa Mesa, is on an AFL-CIO boycott list but has not been targeted for local protests because of the producer’s cooperation with the union on other projects. The Equity status of a third show on the Broadway/L.A. list, “Evita” (Feb. 15-27, 2005), is being negotiated. Officials of the Nederlander Organization, which operates Broadway/L.A., could not be reached for comment.

“Movin’ Out” is slated for Sept. 21-Oct. 31. Other shows on the list include “Peter Pan” with Cathy Rigby (Nov. 9-21), “Les Miserables” (Dec. 2-Jan. 2) and “The King and I” with Stefanie Powers (April 5-17, 2005).