Theater News

Theatrical Unions Taking Paradise Square to Court Over More Than $350,000 in Unpaid Wages and Fees

The beleaguered musical is closing this Sunday, July 17.

A scene from Paradise Square on Broadway
A scene from Paradise Square on Broadway
(© Kevin Berne)

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Actors Equity Association and United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, are among the theatrical unions that are separately taking the Broadway production of Paradise Square to court for owed fees, benefit contributions, and wages.

Actors' Equity, the publication reports, is seeking $189,877 in unpaid union dues, benefit fund contributions, and interest, after the production failed to keep up with a payment schedule that was developed as part of a May settlement agreement. United Scenic Artists is seeking legal action after winning more than $150,000 in unpaid benefits and wages in arbitration, but not yet receiving payment.

The designers union was awarded $156,986 in arbitration as of June 1, including nearly $40,000 for wage payments, more than $11,000 for out-of-pocket expense reimbursements, and $3,028.62 in union dues, among other fees and interest. According to the arbitration award, if full payment is not made by December 1, the production rights, owned by the producer, are to be transferred collectively to scenic designer Allen Moyer, costume designer Toni-Leslie James, lighting designer Donald Holder, and sound designer Jon Weston.

The money is likely to be hard to come by: Paradise Square is closing on Sunday, July 17, after months of underperformance at the box office. The lead producer, Garth Drabinsky, spent 17 months in a Canadian prison for defrauding shareholders of his former production company, Livent, of more than $400 million in the 1990s and early 2000s. Paradise Square, which received 10 Tony nominations and won Best Actress in a Musical for Joaquina Kalukango, was his attempted comeback.

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Paradise Square

Closed: July 17, 2022