Industry NewsScott Rudin Says He Will Resign From the Broadway LeagueThe producer, amid a sea of harassment and intimidation allegations from former assistants, artists, and industry members, continues to roll out his vows of “stepping back.”
By
Ryan McPhee
April 24, 2021
The Music Man at the Winter Garden Theatre
Marc J. Franklin
Following promises to “step back” from Broadway productions and film projects, Scott Rudin says he will resign from the Broadway League, the trade organization that represents Broadway producers, theatre owners, and other industry leaders. His absence smooths the way forward for unions that are locked in bargaining agreements with the League to prevent members from working with the producer.
Rudin’s decision was reported by The New York Times two days after a “March on Broadway,” led by actors and activists, demanded accountability for the troubled industry titan and transparency from Actors’ Equity on steps to ensure safe work environments upon theatres’ reopening. The League has not yet commented on the matter. In addition to Rudin’s ousting from the League, the cohort offered a less specific request: restorations from the producer in the form of a “large sum” of money to 20 BIPOC-led theatre companies.
Scott Rudin
Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock.com
The Times piece echoes and adds to The Hollywood Reporter and New York Magazine’s reports of Rudin’s abusive behavior toward interns, assistants, and staff members. Additionally, the new report depicts instances of intimidation and vindictiveness aimed at talent, including actor Rita Wilson (who had appeared in the Rudin-produced Fish in the Dark) and playwrights Adam Rapp and Sarah Ruhl. Wilson cited Rudin’s insensitivity around her breast cancer diagnosis at the time of the production; plans for Rudin to produce Rapp’s The Sound Inside and Ruhl’s Becky Nurse of Salem became collateral damage in a feud with their agent Mark Subias. (The former did open on Broadway in 2019 via producer Jeffrey Richards, and the latter is expected to make its New York debut at Lincoln Center Theater.)
What remains unclear is who exactly will take Rudin’s place as key decision makers in his productions, which include the upcoming revivals of The Music Man and Our Town as well as the Broadway productions of To Kill a Mockingbird, West Side Story, and The Book of Mormon that were running up until the coronavirus shutdown. While echoing his previous assertion that other producers will replace him on these shows, Rudin has not yet offered specifics regarding his own financial responsibilities or profits from these titles moving forward.
Rudin was also a leading organizer of New York State’s “PopsUp” program, presenting performances in a variety of socially distanced venues (including some Broadway theatres) and outdoor spaces as a signal of arts and culture’s post-pandemic revitalization. The festival said April 23 that Rudin had stepped down from managing the program three weeks ago—around the time of The Hollywood Reporter’s initial exposé on Rudin’s longstanding behavior.
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See Photos From Inside the 'March on Broadway'
See Photos From Inside the 'March on Broadway'
42 PHOTOS
The March on Broadway
The March on Broadway
Natalyee Randall
“I believe that you and I and everyone here can create the theatre industry, the entertainment industry, that we want to see.” –Jaime Cepero
“We have a union that is interlocked in supremacy. We are tired of the town halls. We have waited an entire year for our union to work for us. To give us answers. To show us transparency. No, we will not be easily distracted.” –Courtney Daniels
Michaelah Reynolds
Jaime Cepero, Courtney Daniels, and Nattalyee Randall
Paige Levy
Diamond Essence White
Diamond Essence White
The March on Broadway
“If people of color are forced to operate along the scale of whiteness, remind me again why white people are so uncomfortable.” –Ashley De La Rosa
Tiffany Renee Thompson
Ryan J. Haddad
“I want Black kids to be able to see Black women on Broadway doing amazing things. And I want to be able to exist. No more pain. If you are a writer, write that shit. If you are a composer, compose that shit. We want to hear it.” –Sis
Michaelah Reynolds
Jaime Cepero
Brandon Michael Nase
Brandon Michael Nase
“This is the first day that I have not felt heartbroken. I feel lifted up and inspired by each and every one of you who have shared this space and showed up here today.” –Eden Espinosa
Eden Espinosa
The March on Broadway
Courtney Daniels and Nattalyee Randall
The March on Broadway
Jaime Cepero, Courtney Daniels, and Nattalyee Randall
Michaelah Reynolds
Charissa Hogeland
Jerusha Cavazos
The March on Broadway
Michaelah Reynolds
Davon Williams
Davon Williams
Napoleon Douglas and Davon Williams
The March on Broadway
The March on Broadway
James Pierce III
James Pierce III
The March on Broadway
Jerusha Cavazos, Emily Bautista, Leana Rae Concepcion, and JJ Niemann
Laks, the League's former executive vice president and general counsel, has been serving in the role on an interim basis since the departure of Charlotte St. Martin.
Consisting of four distinct programs dedicated to supporting early career playwrights, the festival has formalized Second Stage Theater’s artistic pipeline.
