You’d think it was the night before Christmas around our home given how excited my daughter is for tomorrow to “get here already.”
She’s 3 years old and a huge Hello Kitty Supercute (the cape- and tiara-wearing feline superhero) fan. The same Hello Kitty that will be floating down Broadway Thanksgiving morning during the Macy’s Parade.
Hello Kitty, Sesame Street’s fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby, and 12 other giant helium balloons will fill the skies over New York City tomorrow as part of the 81st annual parade. But besides the character balloons, 2,000 cheerleaders and 11 marching bands, the famous Turkey Day parade is also known for giving the casts of hit Broadway shows a chance to strut their stuff on national television.
This year “Legally Blonde,””Mary Poppins,””Young Frankenstein” and “Xanadu” scored the coveted spots in the parade, the only annual event besides the Tony Awards that provides a nationally televised audience for the Great White Way. But for the cast of “Legally Blonde,” the opportunity won’t be the Thanksgiving dream they had hoped for.
The musical is one of more than two dozen productions affected by the current Broadway stagehands strike. The cast’s invite to participate in the parade still stands, but their costumes and props are locked behind the stagehands’ picket lines.
The show’s director called the move “disheartening” and noted that “Legally Blonde” is the only musical performing without props and costumes because of the stagehands’ contract dispute with the League of American Theatres and Producers. What’s more, because anyone appearing in the parade falls under a TV contract with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists the musical’s original actors won’t be appearing in the annual Thanksgiving ritual. Instead, replacements will be used–that way the performers will not be crossing the picket lines by marching. As far as the other three Broadway productions in the parade are concerned their appearances will not be affected since their theaters have separate contracts with the league. Meaning the show will go on for them and parade goers can expect to see the original cast performing as scheduled.
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