Musicians Fight for their Spots in the Pit

Many recruiters help companies transition to more technology-based structures– helping companies find people who can facilitate a digital revolution in the way their companies function.  Success stories fill the news with how companies are run with more and more efficiency, workers thrilled by the ease of their jobs with the newest applications and computer programs.

Not everyone is so happy with this shift.  The future of not only the job market, but also the future of American art, may be tied to people’s willingness to fight for the preservation of their low-tech jobs.

Currently, this struggle is playing out on Broadway.

Musicians are fighting for their jobs.  Leaders of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians are holding directors, producers, and theaters accountable for a shift toward smaller orchestras.  The union is focusing its action on the new musical “Priscilla.”  This new musical has only hired nine musicians and has chosen to depend on taped music for some of the musical’s numbers.

Some of the visionaries behind the musical claim that this is not an assault on live performance or musicians.  They claim that the subject of the musical, drag queens’ lip syncing to famous disco songs, does not demand a full orchestra complete with stringed instruments.

But it seems like an increasing number of musicals claim no need for a full orchestra, and the livelihoods of musicians are jeopardized.  As the union of musicians organizes around “Priscilla,” workers are not only struggling for their right to perform during this particular show, but also for future shows that claim that their shows simply do not need many musicians.