Connect with us

Behind The Scenes

Say What?! Two Unions Ban Actors From Tyler Perry Play

Published

on

Actor, director, and producer Tyler Perry has gotten into a conflict with two unions over his stage play, Madea On The Run, which is touring the country.  Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) are telling their members not to work on the show or face disciplinary action for “conduct unbecoming a member,” per SAG-AFTRA.

According to Deadline, the AEA  put the production on its “do not work” list. Apparently, Perry’s production company has yet to sign a contract with AEA. Contracts dictate how much actors will be paid, and when and if actors will receive residual payments if a project goes into syndication or is featured on another platform.  Because Perry has refused to sign the contracts, some argue that it seems that he doesn’t want to be bound to any agreements that might lower his profits from the show.

This isn’t the first time that Perry has been at odds with unions; according to Shadow and Act, the Writers Guild of America filed a complaint against Perry in 2008, claiming that he fired four writers because they were seeking union representation.  The writers worked on the sitcom, House of Payne, and were fired before the show went into syndication when residuals would have kicked in.  Perry also allegedly refused to enter into a contract that would give the writers healthcare benefits or pensions.  In an article from Shadow and Act, “Attorneys representing Perry said that the writers’ firing had nothing to do with the contract negotiation but was instead related to “the quality of their work. We continue to work toward a resolution of their contract, and after months of negotiations we have reached agreement with the Guild on every major issue but one – residuals from repeats shown on broadcast television stations.”

We are concerned that it appears Perry does not want to allow artists to share in the profits from a show built on their talent. We hope this is resolved quickly to allow recognition of the hard work and dedication theatre artists bring to every performance.

Advertisement
1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Pingback: The Tyler Perry Factor

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Behind The Scenes

Behind-The-Scenes: The Men of Ain’t Too Proud VOGUE Photo shoot

Published

on

Derrick Baskin, Jawan M. Jackson. Jeremy Pope. Ephraim Sykes, James Harkness Photo: IG @jawanjackson4

Go behind-the-scenes of the Vogue photo shoot with the men of Ain’t Too Proud.

Leading the cast as The Temptations will be Derrick Baskin as Otis Williams, James Harkness as Paul Williams, Jawan M. Jackson as Melvin Franklin, Jeremy Pope as Eddie Kendricks, and Ephraim Sykes as David Ruffin. The Broadway cast will also feature Esther Antoine, Saint Aubyn, Shawn Bowers, E. Clayton Cornelious, Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., Taylor Symone Jackson, Jahi Kearse, Jarvis B. Manning Jr., Joshua Morgan, Rashidra Scott, Nasia Thomas, Christian Thompson, Curtis Wiley, and Candice Marie Woods.

Ain’t Too Proud is the electrifying new musical that follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Five guys. One dream. And a sound that would make music history. With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. The rest is history — how they met, the groundbreaking heights they hit, and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the United States fell into civil unrest. This thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal is set to the beat of the group’s treasured hits, including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and so many more.

Ain’t Too Proud will play the Imperial Theatre on February 28th, 2019, with an official Opening Night set for Thursday, March 21, 2019.

Continue Reading

Behind The Scenes

Behind The Curtain: Eclipsed Will Air The Historic Broadway Journey On Centric TV

Published

on

Eclipsed is returning and this time it’s on television. Well, kind of.

According to the press realease:

BET International releases a multi-part documentary series chronicling the ascent and realization of ‘Eclipsed’; a Broadway play all written, directed and acted by women of African descent.

  • Danai Gurira (Zimbabwe), playwright
  • Liesl Tommy, (South Africa), director
  • Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya), actress
  • Akosia Busia, (Ghana), actress
  • Zainab Jah (Sierra Leone), actress
  • Saycon Sengbloh, (Liberia), actress
  • Pascale Armand, (Haiti), actress

A winner of nine accolades including a Tony Award, the play tackles the survival stories of five women near the end of the second Liberian civil war. Written by actress, Danai Gurira who was inspired by a New York Times article about Black Diamond, a female freedom fighter and the female peace activists.

Broken into three episodes, each part delves into a central theme; Context, Cultivation, and Community. The series documents the fearless women using art to combat social injustice and give voice to the voiceless. With a strong production team including Stephen Byrd, Alia Jones Harvey and Michaela Angela Davis the documentary uses cinema-verite style to complement the rehearsal/show footage and ancillary interviews.

Ava L. Hall, executive producer and Vice President, Programming & Brand Advancement, BET International commented:

“It was really important to us to capture and to some extent immortalise the extraordinary stories of these women in Liberia and also the women who fought to bring it to fruition on the other side of the Atlantic, in New York on Broadway. This is a tale of how sisterhood, support and humanity travels globally to create a vision which breaks boundaries, sets new standards and while sobering, inspires a generation to find value and strength in their stories.”

This ground breaking play took its place firmly on Broadway and this documentary will take a place firmly in your heart and mind. Celebrating the intersection of Black and women’s history months airing on March 1, 2017 at 8pm EST on Centric

This is not one you’ll want to miss. You’ll even see a guest appearance from a photoshoot Broadway Black did before the Tony Awards. Live tweet with us tonight! @BroadwayBlack

Continue Reading

Twitter: @BroadwayBlack

Hot Topics