Broadway Musicians Object To David Byrne’s ‘Here Lies Love’
A union representing musicians is challenging David Byrne’s next Broadway show,”Here lies love”, saying it is against plans to ramp up the production with recorded instrumental tracks instead of a live band.
The musical — a riveting, dance-driven spectacle about Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines — begins previews June 17 and opens July 20 at the Broadway Theater. Byrne co-wrote the music with Fatboy Slim.
The musical has previously been performed on Broadway, in London and in Seattle, each time with a singing cast accompanied by recorded music. There are a few times when actors have instruments as part of the action being depicted, but there are no full-time instrumentalists.
“Since ‘Here Lies Love’ was first conceived 17 years ago, every production has been performed to pre-recorded tracks; this is part of the karaoke genre inherent in the musical and the production concept,” production spokesperson Adrian Bryan-Brown said in a statement Tuesday. “The music for ‘Here Lies Love’ was inspired by the phenomenon of ‘track acts’, which allowed club audiences to keep dancing, just as this production aims to do.”
But Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians says the contract with the Broadway League requires the use of 19 musicians for musicals at the Broadway Theater. (The number of musicians required under the contract varies based on the size of the theater.)
The union says it strives to preserve jobs for musicians and quality for theater enthusiasts.
“We’re not going to let this happen,” said Tino Gagliardi, the local president and executive director. “It’s not fair to the public.”
Since February, the producing team of “Here Lies Love,” led by Hal Luftig, has been trying to have the show declared a “special situation,” a category in the employment contract that would allow fewer musicians to be employed. The request must be reviewed by a panel that includes neutral observers as well as representatives of the Broadway League and Musicians’ Union; it is not clear how long that process will take, and the ruling could be appealed to arbitration.
The League did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but Bryan-Brown said: “This process is ongoing and may eventually result in a final and binding arbitration decision, but until then we will continue to work in good faith. with the union to go through the steps of the contractual process.”
Several Broadway shows have been staged over the years with smaller orchestra sizes, but it’s rare for a musical to have no orchestra at all. The most famous example was “Contact,” a dance show produced by the non-profit Lincoln Center Theater that won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical. In 2011, the union objected to a smaller orchestra, along with recorded music, for the Broadway production of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”. More recently, “The Little Prince” was performed at the Broadway Theater with music sung to recorded tracks; that show was ineligible for Tony and had a short run, so the union did not object.
The musicians say they are disappointed that the request comes from a show associated with Byrne, whom they revere. Byrne’s last Broadway production, “American Utopia,” featured musicians as the band played instruments on stage and danced with the star.
“I was really excited that David Byrne was bringing something different to Broadway,” said Ray Cetta, a bassist and union member who has occasionally played in the band for “Chicago.” “The current situation is very surprising and discouraging. Any musician would want to work with David Byrne and bring his music to life.”