A unionization wave sweeping across Off Broadway is poised to reshape the economics of theater-making in New York — for workers as well as producers.
Striking stage crews have idled the nonprofit Atlantic Theater Company — the birthplace of the musicals “Spring Awakening,” “The Band’s Visit” and “Kimberly Akimbo,” which all transferred to Broadway and won Tonys. The strike, which began last month, comes amid a drive to unionize stage hands and crews at Off Broadway theaters.
Nonprofit companies and producers fear that the unionization push could drive up costs at a moment when many are running deficits and staging fewer, and smaller, shows. Second Stage Theater and Soho Rep both recently moved out of their longtime venues and opted to share space with other companies. Another measure of the sector’s shrinkage: In 2019 there were 113 shows eligible for the Lucille Lortel Awards, which honor Off Broadway work; there are just 59 eligible shows so far this season, which, for the Lortels, closes at the end of March.
Many workers see the unionization of stage crews as long overdue, noting that the sector has come a long way from its scrappy origins. Now that many Off Broadway theaters have become mature institutions with elevated production values, workers say, it is time for them to pay better wages and offer benefits to their crew members.
“The stakes are incredibly high,” said Casey York, the president of the Off-Broadway League, which represents theater owners, managers and producers, “not just for those directly involved, but for the future of this vibrant sector, which has always been a cornerstone of New York’s cultural identity.”
The drive is being spearheaded by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE, which represents workers on Broadway and in Hollywood. It has won union contracts at two long-running commercial Off Broadway shows: The crew of “Titaníque,” a musical that spoofs the film “Titanic” and the pop star Celine Dion, approved a contract last October, and the crew at “Little Shop of Horrors,” a revival of the sci-fi musical comedy, did so in January.
Now the union is focusing on the nonprofit sector, where actors, directors and designers organized years ago, and where musicians are often unionized too. Over the past year, the staff and freelance stage crews who do the most work at three nonprofit theaters — Atlantic, Vineyard Theater and the Public Theater — have unionized. Those production crews include not only the stage hands who move scenery, but also people working in audio, video, hair, makeup, wardrobe, props, carpentry and lighting.
“I’m not sure why they were not previously unionized, but coming out of the pandemic, workers in general have come to realize they need protections, and unions help workers negotiate collectively,” said Brian Munroe, the union’s representative for theater workers in New York City. “Mostly the Off Broadway workers came to us, because they know we represent entertainment workers.”
None of the three nonprofits where crew members recently unionized has reached a contract agreement. Talks have started at the Public but not yet at the Vineyard.
At Atlantic, where negotiations broke down, crew members went on strike Jan. 12, ending the runs of two plays that had already begun previews. The dispute has grown acrimonious: Both the theater and the union have filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (it’s not clear how President Trump’s moves to put his stamp on the board might affect that situation).
Atlantic’s workers, who picket outside at least one of the company’s two Chelsea venues most weekdays, say they believe unionizing is the only way to earn a living doing the jobs they love. They are seeking higher wages and benefits.
“I’m turning 30 this month, I’d like to have a life supported by the work I do, and I see the union as the way to secure the benefits and wages I need to get me there,” said Liv Rigdon, the costume supervisor at Atlantic, who is among the striking workers there. “Theater is something I’ve always been dedicated to doing, and it’s the life I’ve chosen, but I’d like it to sustain me in the future.”
The tension is already having an impact on artists and audiences. The theater postponed its fall 2024 season in the hope of a settlement, then canceled its winter shows when workers walked out. It is not clear what will happen with its spring programming.
Atlantic officials did not respond to requests to discuss the situation, but they indicated in a statement when the strike began that they believe whatever they do will have broader ramifications. “If IATSE is successful in getting their proposed financials with Atlantic,” the company said, “it would set a precedent for other Off-Broadway companies and we may see the demise of some of our greatest institutions, including Atlantic.”
Munroe said that the union had no intention of putting theater companies out of business. “We recognize the financial condition and economic realities of Off Broadway, but at the same time we recognize the financial condition of the Off Broadway workers,” he said. “They have to pay rent and buy groceries as well, and that is difficult with what they are being paid.”
Christin Essin, a professor of theater history at Vanderbilt University and the author of “Working Backstage: A Cultural History and Ethnography,” said that, because of economic concerns, many crew members ultimately leave Off Broadway, either for unionized work elsewhere or for other industries.
“Stagehands do such physical work, and they start to realize they could have injuries, and they need to have someone protecting their interests, and they want pensions and the things we don’t think about when we’re in our 20s,” she said.
There is a widespread expectation that more Off Broadway crews will seek to unionize, and that it will lead to higher wages for workers and higher costs for employers. Tom Kirdahy, a lead producer of the Off Broadway “Little Shop” revival, said that negotiations with the union had been amicable. He said the contract reached last month with the crew had driven up the show’s running costs, increasing the need for ticket sales to remain strong.
Labor costs for stagehands and others represented by IATSE have been a significant expense for larger performing arts institutions, like the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall, both nonprofits, where overtime and work rules can drive the annual compensation of some of the best-paid members of the union to several hundred thousand dollars. It is not clear how similar or dissimilar contracts there might be to those at larger venues. “They’re going to be dissimilar because the needs are different,” said Jonas Loeb, the union’s spokesman.
There have long been some corners of the Off Broadway world with union crews. Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theater Club and Roundabout Theater Company, major nonprofits that have both Broadway and Off Broadway theaters, have unionized crews, as does Stage 42, an Off Broadway space run by the Shubert Organization.
But most are not unionized, and some wonder if they can afford to be if they are to preserve their role as incubators of new and challenging works, and training grounds for new generations of playwrights, actors and directors.
“Anybody who works Off Broadway is usually pro-union, but there are implications, and I do have concerns about how this will impact nonprofits who are already suffering at this time,” said Adam Hess, a former president of the Off-Broadway League who now works as general manager of DR Theatrical Management.
York, the president of the Off-Broadway League, called production crews “essential” but noted the financial challenges facing the sector.
“The past few years have been tough, and as we recover, we must focus on how to reinvent, sustain and grow this sector for the long term,” she said.
There are various theories as to why the sector’s crews remained mostly nonunion for so long. Some point to the transient nature of the work force (jobs are mostly freelance and short) and the entry-level nature of many of the jobs (partly because of the low pay, which means the positions have often been seen as a training ground for jobs with better pay and benefits).
Also: Off Broadway, at least when it began, did not have particularly elaborate backstage operations. But that has changed, and production values have significantly improved as some of the theaters have become more institutional, with larger budgets.
“If you recall Off Broadway and what it looked like in the ’50s and ’60s, and the Little Theater Movement before that, they were in spaces that did not accommodate a lot of physical production — there were theaters in basements and weird old buildings, and frequently the actor was moving the chair on and off the stage,” said George Forbes, the executive director of the Lucille Lortel Foundation, which operates an Off Broadway theater and champions Off Broadway work. “It was a different world and a different kind of production.”
