The 75th Annual Tony Awards in New York.
Mary Ko/CBS via Getty Images
The Writers Guild of America announced Monday that it will not be picking up the 2023 Tony Awards.
In a statement, the syndicate said it would not negotiate an interim agreement or forfeit the Tony Awards, as previously reported, but would not stage this year’s show in any way moving forward.
“Tony Awards Productions (a joint venture between the Broadway League and American Theater Wing) has informed us that they are altering this year’s show to accommodate specific requests from the WGA, so the WGA will not be picketing the show,” the union said. “Just as they stood by us, we stand with fellow workers on Broadway who were affected by our strike.”
Along with a message of solidarity for the Broadway community, the statement placed responsibility for the refusal to concede on CBS and Paramount.
“The responsibility for having to make changes to the format of the 2023 Tony Awards rests with Paramount/CBS and its allies,” the statement said. “They continue to refuse to negotiate a fair contract for the writers represented by the WGA.”
The news comes the same day that the Tony Awards management committee decided it would appeal to the WGA and ask the amazing writers not to picket the televised awards ceremony going forward with the broadcast. This followed a decision by the union on Friday to deny the show’s producers a concession to go ahead with the televised ceremony during the ongoing strike.
In response to the news, Equity Chairperson Kate Shindel thanked WGA West and East Representative on Twitter Before encouraging stock members to “double up their attendance at their meetings”.
She continued, “Oh, and as it cannot be said enough: This is still a #AMPTP bug, and writers should not have been placed in this position.” “We can appreciate the grace and point out the offenders, right?”
The 76th Annual Tony Awards were scheduled to take place on June 11 at the United Palace in New York City and will be broadcast on CBS, 8-11pm EST / 5-8pm PT and also broadcast live. On Demand on Paramount +.
Hollywood Reporter He has reached out to CBS and Tunis’ reps for comment.
May 15, 8:03 p.m Updated with a statement on social media from the chair of Equity to actor Kate Shindel.