The Boston Herald
Musicians tell Rockettes to kick the canned tunes
By Jerry Kronenberg | Tuesday, November 16, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
A Radio City Rockettes plan to use canned tunes at their upcoming Wang Theatre “Christmas Spectacular” instead of the live orchestra New Yorkers get to hear is striking a sour note among Hub musicians, who are urging local fans to give the Gotham-based dance troupe the boot.
“This is Boston, the city that prides itself on being the Athens of America,” Gail Eaton, spokeswoman for the American Federation of Musicians Local 9-535, told the Herald. “To do a show here that’s compromised by having a recorded orchestra instead of one that’s in the orchestra pit is beneath Boston arts-goers.”
The union is running radio spots and leafleting local arts venues calling on theatergoers to skip the Rockettes’ Dec. 3-29 “Christmas Spectacular” in Boston.
“Why should you take (your family) to see (a performance) advertised as a live show but with no live orchestra?’’ says one spot that began running this weekend. “New York audiences get the total experience. . . . Let the Wang Theatre know that your family deserves the same high quality as the audience in New York.”
Eaton said Bostonians should consider either attending other Hub holiday productions that employ local musicians or catching the Rockettes in New York, where performances are accompanied by a 35-piece orchestra.
The Rockettes insist they’ve always used taped music for their traveling Christmas show, which has toured 62 cities since 1994 — including Boston in 2004 and 2006.
“The touring production of the ‘Christmas Spectacular’ was designed specifically for the use of recorded music,” spokeswoman Mikyl Cordova said. “For every one of these shows, recorded music using a 56-piece orchestra and state-of-the-art audio technology ensures that our patrons experience the highest sound quality.”
Wang Theatre spokesman Joe Ganley added that while the touring shows don’t use live musicians, they do use union labor.
“This is basically a union show — 150 unionized dancers, stage hands, ushers, Teamsters and the like,” Ganley said. “It’s not like we’re using non-union musicians.”
But Eaton said the Rockettes’ decision to use taped tunes hurts local professional musicians, who rely on the busy holiday season for a big part of their yearly earnings.
“If musicians aren’t being hired to do Christmas performances,” she said, “ that means their annual incomes are going to be reduced dramatically.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1296659
0 comments:
Post a Comment