Picketing planned for 'First Wives Club' opening at Old Globe

When the musical version of "The First Wives Club" opens July 31 at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, audiences can expect some juicy drama -- outside the theater doors, that is.

Culture Monster has learned that a small group of picketers is planning to hold court in the courtyard area outside the theater on the evening of the show's official opening. What's the controversy about? Two of the show's backers have allegedly stiffed their former employees out of money, and -- like the heroines of the musical -- the wronged parties are seeking sweet revenge.

Paul Lambert and Jonas Neilson are New York-based producers who are planning to take "The First Wives Club" to Broadway following the San Diego run. A few years ago, the pair (who obtained the rights for the show from Paramount and author Olivia Goldsmith) launched a social networking site for divorced women called First Wives World. They engaged editors, writers and bloggers for the site, with the hopes of cross-promoting the show on the website.

One of the site's former editors, Linda Lee, has organized the picketing campaign outside the Old Globe. She and several other individuals say that Lambert and Neilson owe them money for work completed on the site, with some claiming unpaid wages in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The picketing began last week during previews, but an Old Globe employee escorted the lone picketer from the grounds. (Lee said that's what's shown in the picture, above, that she sent to Culture Monster.)

Lambert and Neilson aren't producing the Old Globe version of "The First Wives Club," although they have been involved with the theater company in terms of lending the rights for the material. The two are currently in the process of raising money for the planned Broadway run.

A spokeswoman for Lambert and Neilson said they had no official comment concerning the picketing. The Old Globe also declined to comment.

-- David Ng

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Photo: A picketer gets escorted off the grounds of the Old Globe in San Diego. Credit: Linda Lee

Comments

[Eyal A]

Shame on Paul Lambert and Jonas Neilson. Pay your employees the wages they earned! I hope Paul and Jonas break a leg, literally.

[Marie Uri]

It is a really a shame when Paul and Jonas think it is ok to hire people to work for them and not pay them. Shame on you! I hope that if you make any money from this project that they will file a class action suit against you guys and you will have to pay out of the nose. Writers deserve the wages. They did what you couldn't do.

[Michelle Kovanen]

This is an unfortunate situation and hopefully does not reflect the real world of the arts on the east coast, west coast and in between. A true artist often struggles to be seen, heard, or read...most accept this. When services are rendered payment is essential in advancing creativity and the life of the artist.
This is simple enough for a kindergartener to understand. Hopefully the grown ups involved in this matter will compensate those who provided services.
If the producers have done what has been alleged by the protestors...then they must be willing to be standup guys here and resolve the issue.
Gosh---we're talking first wives club here. Think about the story line!

[Felicity Cohen]

This is disgusting, and ironic. Their treatment of the women they hired echoes the treatment of women in the play. I hope one of their former employees is able to sue them and win.

[Cabot Saltonstall]

I don't know whether to wish these bums failure, or success. If they succeed with this musical,, Ms. Lee and her cohorts will have some real money to go after. If they fail, well, there's a certain sweetness to seeing the bums rushed.

[Ansi Vallens]

Angels beware. If these guys won't pay their workers, what make's you think they'll repay backers?

[t]

Really! A social-networking site for divorced women that takes advantage of the divorced women writing for them—shameless!!! I too have not been paid for work published on the site. I won't hold my breath. KARMA

[Debby Baldiwn]

What conceivable rationale could they have for not paying their workers? I don't see how they sleep at night. They should pay what they owe and then get back to work -- exposing injustices, if I'm not mistaken?

[Bromley]

I worked for these gentlemen and was paid what was owed me. Once the funding ran out I chose to no longer write. I was always treated with respect and kindness by Paul and Jonas.

If someone continues to work when they are told the money is not there, aren't they responsible for their choices? Linda and others had the choice of staying or walking away from the job.

Paul and Jonas are dealing with the same thing quite a few are dealing with these days...an economy that is in the gutter. I don't know Paul and Jonas well but based on past experience with them I'm sure the first thing they will do once they have the money is pay those they owe.

Divorce360.com is in the same position. They stopped using writers because they could no longer pay them, and if I'm not mistaken still owe some for work done. I've taken a pay cut on my regular writing job because revenue is down.

To say they took advantage of divorced women is ludicrous. They took advantage of no one, were always open and upfront about their financial situation.

And now, those owed money are trying to discredit them and at a time when they will hopefully be making the money to pay back those they owe. It seems to me that Linda and her "cohorts" are cutting their noses off to spite their faces.

[Susan Aarons]

I don't get it. How can you just use people. It's outright thievery. Do they even care who they hurt. I hope they are held accountable and I do mean quickly. Do they even have an excuse, never mind a reason. Will they double compensate when they finally pay. They should call their project "the First Knives Club", cause they're definitely sticking it to their victims.

[Elaine Jesmer]

Unlike writers protected by the Writers Guild, freelance writers have no union protection against unscrupulous promoters like Lambert and Nielson. Anyone who wonders why writers' unions are important need go no further than this story. C'mon Holland-Dozier-Holland, do you guys really want to be part of this? You guys know what it's like to get ripped off. It's time for everybody creative to step up and speak up.

[Marie F]

It seems only right that writers be paid for work accomplished. Not receiving compensation is akin to clocking in at a place of employment for weeks and having the employer say, "Sorry no paycheck this month". Should that be condoned?

Marie F

[helen duvall]

Once again contributors to projects with little or no money are left with promises and very little else. I agree with Linda Lee picketing. what other option does she have,perhaps if these producers wish to obtain money from backers
part of that agreement should include settling some of these debts ,

[Lucy Taylor]

The real story is that Linda Lee did not bill www.firstwivesworld.com in 2008 when she was a blogger. Linda, why dont you tell everyone why you held on to your bills? That is the real story.

The person who digs up this info may even make it to page one of the WSJ

[Charles Rowan]

It's a sign that the producers do not have their priorities straight. Pay as you go especially to employees.

[beauhanks]

Hi Lois, oh, I mean "Lucy Taylor."
This is Linda Lee here, the subject of the above article.
I wasn't a blogger, even under a pseudonym. I was the executive editor, based on my experience at things like, say, The New York Times. And it doesn't matter why I didn't submit invoices for August and September until October. You think that is a story? Companies are supposed to pay employees, even if invoices are late. When the entire company was told, in October, that there was a "cash crisis," I got those invoices in right away, and submitted all the other invoices in a timely way, right through the work I did in November. None of those timely ones were paid either. We kept working, all of us, because we were told over and over that Jonas Neilson was about to meet one of those really big investors. Then, we were told, we would all be paid. Promises, Promises. Oh, right, that's a musical too. So is The Producers. If the web site I worked on paid for the theater rental at the Globe, so Paul Lambert and Jonas Neilson could use the production of "First Wives Club" there to raise money for a Broadway show, and that's why there was no money to pay me or all of the others (who did submit invoices on time), that means we all got cheated so they could put on a musical. In which the employees of the web site have no financial interest. That's why I am picketing. That's the story the Wall Street Journal might do. You want to continue this very public discussion, Lois?

[Evan Brendan]

If a credit card company were to not bill you for your monthly installment would that then nullify your debt?

[Rob Harrison]

The behavior of Paul Lambert and Jonas Neilson is another example of the kind of greed that has hurt honest professionals in this industry. They should pay their employess for services rendered before funding other projects.

[Maureen]

Employees were promised money--even after they threatened to quit. Some were told, "No, wait, we can guarantee you a portion of your pay until we're up and running again." But that money never came. I was one of those employees.

I can't say I know the details of how the musical was financed, but I do know one thing: If I had been privy to FWW's books, if I were in charge, I would have told employees to stop all work on the site--if I didn't know when (or if) the next round of money was coming in. Yet we all continued to contribute to the site, on the promises of the site's executives.

Which really makes it all the more difficult, because I truly liked Jonas, and what I knew of Paul. That's what made it easy to hang on a little longer--to wait it out until that next bit of hopefully good news. As someone mentioned above, no one would continue to work for a large company that couldn't cut checks every (or any) pay period. It wasn't a big corporation--it was a handful of individuals trying to keep this afloat.

This is a really unfortunate situation. I hope that we all receive what is owed to us, but at this point I feel hopeless that this will ever happen.

[Elizabeth]

How can one even begin to imply that it was through some fault of an employee that they were not paid? I have been quite disgusted by this mess thus far, but that implication really takes the cake. I know for a fact that employees were promised that they would be paid, all they had to do was 'wait a little longer' because 'financing' was about secure. They were asked to, 'please hold on a little longer' and were apologized to over and over again.

And really, who would have thought that the people responsible for a site geared towards the plight of divorced women and single moms would be the people responsible for ripping them off and taking advantage of them?

This whole thing is such a sick, disgusting mess and the woman responsible for that comment - The 'Lucy Taylor' of First Wives World, and the men responsible for taking advantage of all of the people who worked for them in good faith - should be utterly ashamed of themselves.