Disney on Broadway 25th Anniversary Concert Will NOW Take Place on April 17th at 7pm
Yesterday, we shared the sad news that the Disney on Broadway 25th Anniversary Concert that was slated to take place online tonight had been cancelled due to a conflict over licensing with the American Federation of Musicians.
Today we are relieved to report that according to a piece on Deadline, a deal has been struck and the concert will move forward. However, it will need to be rescheduled due to the hold-up. According to news just coming in, the new concert will take place on Friday, April 17th at 7pm. Ryan McCartan from Frozen and TV’s Live and Maddie) will be hosting the event from home and will be interviewing some of Broadway’s biggest stars throughout the evening.
As we previously mentioned, the benefit was being held to raise funds for the Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights Aids COVID-19 Fund.
Originally the American Federation of Musicians would not agree to authorize the live broadcast without a license fee being paid to the Federation making the broadcast grind to a halt. Prominent members of the AFM including all the members that participated in the concert started an online petition urging the ASM to rethink their decision.
Just today, Ray Hair, International President of the AFT of the US and Canada released a statement reversing his earlier decision to withhold streaming rights. Hair said in an official statement:
“We stand in solidarity with our fellow entertainment workers in Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA,” said Hair in a statement. “We believe all musicians should be fairly compensated for their work all of the time, but we also believe that we must do everything possible to support entertainment workers hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. We fully support the union musicians who have graciously offered to forgo all required payments to allow this charity event to move forward.”
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS released their own statement:
“There is no better news today than that which helps us ensure all in the entertainment industry who are facing the serious challenges of this COVID-19 pandemic can depend on the support of all their colleagues in the industry,” said Tom Viola, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. “My thanks to the leadership of the American Federation of Musicians. My best wishes and many thanks to AFM Local 802 President Adam Krauthamer and the Local 802 membership who were willing to speak up during this unprecedented time to support the arts community and those in need. We all will surely one day gather in Times Square together to celebrate Broadway’s rebirth and renewal of hope.”
Celebrating 25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway was staged last Nov. 4 at the New Amsterdam Theatre to mark the silver anniversary of Disney’s arrival on Broadway. The concert featured a 15-piece orchestra and 79 performers all presenting songs from popular Disney Broadway musicals over the years.
The event raised $570,426 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and with the recent Broadway shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organization proposed streaming of the recorded concert to raise money for its COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.
The event on Friday will be available to watch through Playbill.com, iHeartRadio Broadway ABC7NY.com and on the sites of ABC stations around the country.
Readers are encouraged to keep following along with MickeyBlog for further news and updates regarding Friday’s concert and on ways that you can support Broadway Cares during this time of crisis.
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Source: Deadline