Theater

WGA Doesn’t Want Tony-Nominated Guild Members to Attend Awards

SHOW MUST GO ON?

Nominees can instead pre-record an acceptance speech or send someone else to accept their award, in case they win, the union said.

Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) East picket outside Peacock Newfront streaming service offices, in New York City, U.S., May 2, 2023.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Tony-nominated members of the Writers Guild of America have been urged to ditch the awards ceremony on June 11 in solidarity with the strike, The Hollywood Reporter reported. In case they secure a win, the nominees can instead pre-record an acceptance speech or have a non-member take the stage to accept the award in their absence, according to a recent email from the WGA. After a back and forth between the WGA and the Tony Awards for requests to air the show on CBS, the union promised not to picket the event as long as the ceremony was unscripted. Playwright members also urged the WGA to allow the show to proceed amid fears of a theater industry still recovering from the pandemic, according to The New York Times.

Read it at The Hollywood Reporter