N.Y. rally blasts non-Equity casts

Hugh Jackman -- who called himself the newest member of the U.S. Actors’ Equity union, now that he’s starring in “The Boy From Oz� on Broadway -- and Sandy Duncan were among the speakers at an Equity rally in New York’s Times Square theater district Wednesday in protest of touring musicals with non-Equity casts that are billed as part of “Broadway� series.

The rally specifically targeted a run of “Miss Saigon� in Newark scheduled to open next week. The “Saigon� tour is from Big League Theatricals, which also drew Equity’s wrath for a non-Equity “Music Man� last year.

“Saigon� has been on the road for more than a year, passing through four Southern California venues last spring, but it has only recently begun to attract Equity protests.

-- Don Shirley