Breach of Contract

Fort Worth's Casa Mañana in conflict with 3 unions over Matilda musical

Casa Mañana presents Matilda: The Musical

B.J. Cleveland, who plays Miss Trunchbull, is one of several Equity actors in Matilda: The Musical.

Photo by Chip Tompkins

A longtime Fort Worth theater is embroiled in a union dustup, with not one but three unions.

Casa Mañana Theatre was already in the hot seat for violating its contract with the local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians, for using pre-recorded music for Matilda: the Musical. Tickets to the show cost as much as $135 a ticket, but the theater left out of its marketing that no live musicians would be accompanying the mainstage musical.

Pre-recorded music is allowed in children's productions, but not for mainstage Equity shows.

And that's the crux of the problem: Matilda: the Musical was originally programmed as part of Casa's Children's Theater season in 2020, and was scheduled to open right before the COVID-19 pandemic began that March.

Now running February 4-13, 2022, it is being billed as part of the Broadway series, and that change has caused Casa also to be in violation with Actors' Equity Association and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

"[Casa president and executive producer] Wally Jones has just lied to three unions," says Matilda director and choreographer Jeremy Dumont. "He's literally cheated people out of money, and musicians out of jobs in the first place."

Once news broke that Matilda was in violation with the AFM, inquiries were made concerning the unions that cover the actors and Dumont.

A youth show, Dumont explains, is not allowed to run more than two hours, and that includes the 30 minutes before curtain when the actors arrive.

The full-length version of Matilda: The Musical, which Casa is currently producing, runs about 2.5 hours, plus the 30-minute call time beforehand.

This means that the AEA contracts Casa was using did not match up to the work being done, and Equity actors were not being paid appropriately.

A letter sent from Actors' Equity to the company of Matilda reads:

"We are writing to inform you that we have been made aware that the version of MATILDA has not been adapted for young audiences and the performance schedule and length of the show are in violation of the TYA agreement.

After discussing this with the Producer, they have agreed to place this show onto their COST Agreement. You will be issued retroactive contracts to your start dates and be compensated for the difference owed. The difference between these agreements is $259.50 per week. Any overtime for the performances will be deducted from this amount. Additionally, there will be an increase of 3.5% towards your pension contributions."

Dumont himself was also being underpaid. He says that Jones offered him only $3,200 to direct and choreograph the show this time, claiming that he had already been paid in full the $4,500 for his work in 2020 (even though that show was never performed).

The all-important "mainstage" designation this time means that, with the correct contract, Dumont was actually owed a difference of about $6,000.

Casa Mañana's marketing director Monica Bermea and general manager Lindsey Rushen have not responded to emails requesting comment.

"It's an unfortunate situation and I hope that a resolution is quickly found," says Vonda K. Bowling, Matilda's music director. "Above all else, however, I support and stand with all of our local artists and the unions representing us, and I am incredibly proud of the cast and crew who spent and waited two years to get this show in front of an audience."

Once word got out about the lack of live music, some patrons took to social media to express their frustration and anger. Casa Mañana then limited comments on its Matilda posts, though people are voicing their disappointment on other posts made by the theater company.

"He's playing an instrument. You sure you're okay with that?" wrote one Facebook user about the cabaret show Dylan on Dylan, which is running in the Reid Cabaret Theatre right after Matilda closes.

"I'm really hoping this will be a catalyst for change," Dumont says. "Wally was illegally contracting these artists. They know they're wrong, they're not contesting it. They just got caught."

music theater

Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

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