I’ve been a Juilliard-trained violinist on Broadway for the past twelve years, rotating through pits from “Frozen” to “The Lion King.”
Like many of my colleagues, we’re not celebrities; we’re highly-trained artists, sometimes performing at Carnegie Hall and other times working with A-Listers like Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Merchant and Andrea Bocelli. We are part of an ecosystem that keep Broadway’s heartbeat steady night after night: musicians, actors, sound techs, and stagehands who’ve devoted our lives to our craft, hustling to create spellbinding art while doing the best we can make ends meet.
However, that all may come to a grinding halt in the coming weeks. The Broadway League, representing producers and theater owners, is demanding wage cuts, reduced job opportunities, and threats to our healthcare benefits, on the heels of the most successful season in Broadway history, which yielded $1.89 billion in grosses and an attendance of 14.7 million theatergoers.
Greg Smith, a horn player for the past 28 years at “The Lion King,” said “at a time of healthy revenues on Broadway, we are simply asking the producers to allow us to continue to support our families through adequate salaries and health insurance and to respect the hard work that goes into making eight shows per week.”
Broadway musicians of AFM Local 802 have voted 98% in favor of a strike authorization if terms cannot be met. So, before the lights begin to dim, you can show your support for the artists who make the shows possible by visiting the theaters and signing this petition.
Or, if you’re so inclined, come and experience the raw power and spectacle of “The Lion King” where every note roars with life night after night at the Minskoff Theatre. Let “Aladdin” whisk you away on a magic carpet ride of color, sound and imagination. Feel the pulse of “Hamilton” or the timeless allure of “Chicago” as they’re meant to be heard.
Each night on Broadway is a living, breathing work of art — a collaboration of hundreds of dedicated people whose passion fills every measure, every movement, every curtain call.
We’ll see you in Midtown.
13 huge musicals currently running on Broadway
Here are just a few of my favorite musicals you can seek out before the marquees potentially get turned off for the foreseeable future.
In the event you’re still around long after the curtain call, here’s a look at all the 2025 Tony nominees.
