BEVERLY — North Shore Music Theatre was supposed to make its triumphant return on Wednesday night, but workers at the local theatre decided to walk out instead.
Dozens of stagehands and theatre technicians went on strike Wednesday, citing owner Bill Hanney’s refusal to pay family-supporting wages. The staff walked off the job at 4:15 p.m. in front of a full house of subscribers, during an open dress rehearsal for “Mamma Mia!”
The first show was slated for 7:30 p.m., but union actors and musicians joined the stagehands and technicians on the picket line and did not return to work, which forced the cancellation of opening night.
“While charging customers big-city prices, Bill Hanney is paying less than small wages,” said The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 11 Business Manager Colleen Glynn. “His exploitative business model is not sustainable in 2021, and we hope that tonight’s cancellation is the beginning of a fairer and more sustainable future for the North Shore Music Theatre.
“We are excited to welcome back our beloved audience once Bill Hanney realizes that while we may be backstage, we will not be exploited in the shadows any longer. For many months, we have worked in good faith to avoid this disruption, but the reality is that Bill Hanney simply can’t rake in millions in taxpayer funds while paying peanuts to people doing dangerous work at his venues. He needs to understand that the heart of this venue is its people and that people expect to be treated fairly.”
Hanney believes that everyone will come back and told The Boston Globe that the theatre isn’t going to close because a group of people “don’t understand where they are.”
According to IATSE, stagehands and theatre technicians at North Shore Music Theatre are paid 60 percent less than the area’s industry average. They also don’t receive employer-provided benefits and were not offered hazard pay during the pandemic, the union said.
That math doesn’t add up according to Hanney who says that the rates that are being asked for are similar to Broadway and shows in Boston. Describing North Shore Music Theatre as a “steppingstone,” Hanney said that management has been stretched to its limits in regards to negotiations.
Despite the decision to strike, theatre employees said that they enjoy their work at the theatre.
“I love the work I do because, honestly, it’s just fun to use my skills to make magic,” said IATSE Local 11 member and NSMT carpenter Myles McMann.”You get to see the whole show spring to life from the initial designer plates through to the finished, live show.”
IATSE Local 11 is a part of a nationwide movement of IATSE members working in theater, film, television, and related crafts who declared this past weekend that they were prepared to strike. According to IATSE, union workers in the entertainment industry are ready to halt production across the U.S. for workplace protections and fair pay this month, which has been dubbed #Striketober.
Musicians and actors are refusing to return to work until members of IATSE Local 11 are paid a family-sustaining wage.
