How Broadway entities have quietly addressed allegations against William Ivey Long

William Ivey Long and ‘Diana The Musical’

This morning, NPR published a report on allegations of sexual abuse brought against costume designer William Ivey Long. These accusations are in addition to the ones made against Long in a Buzzfeed article published in 2018. NPR’s report also includes excerpts from a 2002 lawsuit that detail further allegations against Long and how his employer at the time responded to complaints that were brought forward.

Long has denied the multiple allegations and through his lawyer, Pearl Zuchlewski, tried to discredit the accusers. Some of their statements are, in my opinion, reprehensible.

While Long suffered virtually zero professional backlash in 2018, with additional allegations being brought forward, it seems that certain Broadway entities are taking action, even if ever so quietly.

NPR’s article touches on the fact that the American Theatre Wing(ATW) investigated the additional allegations last year. Court Watson, who accused Long of sexually abusing him while working on the summer production of The Lost Colony, stated that he had been contacted by the law firm Curley, Hurtgen & Johnsrud LLP which had been tasked by the ATW to handle the investigation. While the results of that investigation have not been made public, Long’s name is no longer included on the ATW’s Advisory Committee. ATW has not issued a statement as to why Long is no longer a part of that group.

Elsewhere, the cast at Long’s most recent work, Diana The Musical, also set to sever ties with the designer last summer. Cast members had expressed discomfort working with Long, given the initial allegations of sexual harassment that have been made against him. According to NPR’s sources, the cast was not aware of Watson’s allegations nor the 2002 lawsuit. Nevertheless, after their concerns were reported to the production team, Long was not present during the Netflix filming of the show, nor is he involved with its reopening. His designs will still be used in the show. While members of the cast had publicly stated on social media that they were not going to work with Long, the production did not make a statement until contacted by NPR.

It is unclear at this time if these new developments will impact his involvement in the rumored revival of Crazy for You.

When the initial allegations were first published back in 2018, the professional theatre industry seemingly did nothing. In fact, you could argue that Long’s career thrived after the allegations were made public -he went on to design three Broadway productions and was nominated for a Tony for two of them(Beetlejuice, Tootsie).

While I would love to see Broadway entities and powers take a real stand against perpetrators of sexual abuse and harassment, they have not and likely will not. Instead, they will either quietly sever ties or not state anything until pressed by media sources. Their reasoning is unclear but it’s fair to say that by conducting business this way, they’re more inclined to protect perpetrators than victims and survivors. I am well aware of the intricate legal ramifications that surround these issues, but I also know what these entities can say when actions are taken. The fact that many of them are not is alarming.

Thankfully, more and more performers, designers, technicians, etc, are speaking publicly about these issues and demanding real action by entities such as unions and other theatre organizations. The pattern of powers remaining silent seems to be less and less tolerated by those employed by these powers.

So time will tell when it comes to seeing how the industry reacts to these new allegations. I only hope that they do a better job of addressing them and taking action than they have in the past.