Williamstown Theatre Festival sound crew walks out on 'Row'

The musical “Row” recounts how Tori Murden McClure became the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic. “At one point, I asked if I could run and change into some dry clothing, and was told no, because we had to wait around,” said sound crew member Mary Fator. “It’s like, hey, I’m asking for the bare minimum.” Williamstown Theatre Festival artistic director Mandy Greenfield said of the sound crew, “Their well-being and their safety is of utmost importance to us.” Minutes later, both sound department team members said, festival Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield approached crew members and said they were cleared to resume working. “I could not tell you if it was genuine or not.” The next morning, the sound crew met with Greenfield and the festival’s leadership team and secured modest increases in pay, safer working conditions and a more reasonable work schedule: an eight-hour turnaround between shifts and a 10-hour cap on the number of hours worked in a day. “Row,” which was initially programmed for the festival’s 2020 season and is scheduled to run through Aug. 15, had its first public performance on July 16 but hasn’t played since because of rain.