Local 802 AFM Says 'David Byrne is Trying to Break The Union'

In response to a statement from Here Lies Love defending of its use of pre-recorded music as part of its upcoming Broadway production, Local 802 President and Executive Director Tino Gagliardi issued the following statement: 

“Let’s be clear about what’s happening here: rather than negotiate, David Byrne is trying to break the union. 

Broadway musicians are not ‘gatekeepers’ like David Byrne callously said, they are the best in the world and since 2020 have been severely hurt by the onset and effects the Covid pandemic had on Broadway. Instead of using his show to lift up musicians that are struggling, he’s denigrating their work, tossing them aside and saying they can’t do it. That’s not the way Broadway has operated for 157 years and we will not stand by as working musicians are told they are not good enough. 

David Byrne must change course now or Local 802 AFM will be forced to take further measures to protect our workers and the experience audices have expected for generations on Broadway.”

Here Lies Love, the musical from the minds of Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winner David Byrne (concept, music and lyrics) and Grammy Award winner Fatboy Slim (music), begins performances Saturday, June 17 ahead of an official opening night on Thursday, July 20. Here Lies Love features the first all-Filipino cast to perform on Broadway.

Here Lies Love tells the story of Imelda Marcos' rise to power and subsequent fall at the hands of the Philippine People Power Revolution. Developed & directed by Tony Award winner Alex Timbers, with choreography by Olivier Award nominee Annie-B Parson, Here Lies Love will transform the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway at 53rd Street) into a dance club where the audience is immersed in the story on the dance floor or in traditional theater seating. 

The musical has previously been staged Off-Broadway, in London and in Seattle. Each time the cast was accompanied by recorded music. There are no full-time instrumentalists.

Local 802 has stated that its contract with the Broadway League requires the use of 19 musicians for musicals at the Broadway Theater. The number of musicians required under the contract differs based on the size of the theater.

A previous musical “Contact” was produced in 2000 without live music, but not at a Broadway League theatre.