Machine means trouble for ‘Joys’

It may be called “The Joys of Sex,” but a new off-Broadway musical has much more than hanky-panky on its mind.

Among the show’s three musicians is one who plays a so-called virtual orchestra -- a computerized system that mimics acoustic instruments. The machines became a rallying point for theater musicians in New York last year, when producers planned to use them in place of live players. The musicians went on a strike that shut down all but one of Broadway’s 19 musicals playing then.

Although “The Joys of Sex” is an off-Broadway show and therefore not under union jurisdiction, Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians plans to rally outside the Variety Arts Theatre beginning with the show’s first preview performance tonight.

From Associated Press