Broadway Strike Ends

Agreement has been reached between the stagehands Local One and the League of Theater Owners and Producers, so the lifeblood of Broadway, money, will begin flowing a little more strongly in the narrowing arteries of the"fabulous invalid". Once again, she has survived an enounter with death, but how much more abuse can the old lady take?

It is interesting to note that there hardly was a famine of theater offerings on Broadway during the strike. Just look at the list of shows that were sold at the TKTS booth near Times Square:

BROADWAY
CYMBELINE
DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS-THE MUSICAL
MAURITIUS
RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
THE RITZ
XANADU

The new Broadway musical Xanadu, based on the motion picture, had just opened when the strike began, but was covered under a different agreement than the one that cuased the strike.

OFF-BROADWAY
A HARD HEART
ALTAR BOYZ
BIG APPLE CIRCUS
CELIA
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
DAI
DIE, MOMMIE DIE!
DORIS TO DARLENE
DOROTHY HALE
EDGE
FLANAGAN'S WAKE
FORBIDDEN BROADWAY
FRANKENSTEIN
GAZILLION BUBBLE SHOW
GONE MISSING
GROWING UP 70'S
HOODOO LOVE
I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE
JUMP
MAKE ME A SONG
MONDAY NIGHT MAGIC
MY FIRST TIME
MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN, MY FATHER'S JEWISH
NAKED BOYS SINGING!
NONE OF THE ABOVE
OUR SINATRA
PERFECT CRIME
PETER & JERRY
PUMPGIRL
RICHARD III
SECRET ORDER
SIVE
STOMP
STRANGE & UNUSUAL HOBBIES
THE 4TH GRADERS PRESENT...
THE AWESOME 80s PROM
THE FANTASTICKS
THE GLORIOUS ONES
THE JOY LUCK CLUB
THE OVERWHELMING
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS
THINGS WE WANT
THREE MO' TENORS
TRUMPERY
WALMARTOPIA
YELLOW FACE

Off Broadway, The Altar Boyz barely missed a beat during the strike.

Nobdoy like a strike. And everyone is pretty happy that this one is over. Of course, there is still the technical vote that has to be taken by the members of the local to ratify the agreement. While details are secret, it appears that each side made a list and added up a dollar value of what they were looking to gain. And somehow this was taken care of in wage increases, and from what I gather, a smaller minimum number of stagehands for a load-in, though once committed, it appears they will stay for the duration, and can't be hired for just one day. Probably minor concessions that should have been agreed to earlier. The stagehands are a very minor part of the costs of running a show. For example, just the advertising costs much more than they are paid.

Broadway in the dark

For the first time in its 121 year history, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Hands has gone on strike, closing down 27 Broadway shows. The eight shows remaining lit have separate contracts and the scalpers have descended on the available tickets, hoping to score a killing. The eight shows still performing include "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" which began at the Berkshire's own Barrington Stage Company. Others are "Mary Poppins," "The Ritz," "Mauritius," "Cymbeline," "Pygmalian," "Xanadu" and "Young Frankenstein."

As we commented here in September, this strike can spell doom to weak shows, and hurt theater-going in general. Theater is a billion dollar a year business in New York City, and affects everything from hotels and restaurant to the taxi business. While the union has a $4 million dollar strike fund, the League of American theaters and Producers, who already tightened work rules during the non-contract period, has a reserve of $20 million to weather the strike.

As one wag commented, "Even if the producers manage to cut union costs, you can be sure it won't be reflected in lower ticket prices."

Broadway could go dark next week

The Great White Way could go dark Monday, October 1, if the League of American Theaters and Producers carries out its threats to the stagehands union. One producer I know thinks there is a 50-50 chance that rather than a settlement being reached, the owners will shut down their shows and try to force the union's hand.

Each side has a kitty to help them through this battle. The producers have $20 million, and the union has much less, just $4 million stashed away. But the disparity in funds is not as lopsided as it appears. The unions have only 2,100 members, of which only 350 to 500 are working on Broadway at any given time. The League's members need huge amounts to keep borderline shows from closing. Its funds will disappear at a much faster rate.

The battle is the usual business vs. workers contratemps. The Producers want work rules changed, like being able to hire stagehands for a day or two during the "load-in" of a show. The union wants a level to be maintained for the whole load in period whcih can take a week or more, regardless of whether the stagehands are needed for the whole period. There are other issues, too.

Stagehands earn between $1,200 to more than $1,600 a week on average, but with overtime and premium rates, it is not unusual for a stagehand to take home more than $100,000 a year.



There hasn't been a strike on Broadway for four years, since the musicians struck, and it is surprising there are not more considering that there are more unions in a theater than on a typical construction site.

The union isn't saying anything to the reporters, but back in July, James J. Claffey, the president of Local One, said the union would not change work rules without getting something in return. On the other side, the League sent out e-mails warning the theater owners and producers not to speak to the media about the negotiations.

It is important to note that we are talking about a "lockout" here, not a "strike" since it would be the producers, not the stagehands, who would dim the lights. October is a slower month than the holidays when business booms. Even so, seven shows are scheduled to begin previews next month. One, “Young Frankenstein,” is playing in a nonleague theater, and would probably open no matter what. Likewise, Disney’s New Amsterdam theater and the four nonprofit Broadway theaters would not be included in a lockout.

But oldtimers like me are willing to bet there is lots of activity behind the scenes. How likely is it that Mayor Bloomberg is going to let an industry that generates almost $1 billion a year for the city to close down. Without shows, there is no audience and that means no business for restaurants, hotels, ticket brokers and parking lots.

Word of this pending strike has been limited as the industry has tried to keep a lid on the pending disaster, Nobody wants ticket sales to stop, hotel reservations to be cancelled, and tourism to drop during a peak time of year.

Negotiations are still going on, but it is late in the third act. Here's hoping there is a happy ending!

UPDATE AS OF OCT. 2:

The parties have agreed to extend the deadline in order to continue negotiations today, and on Thursday of this week. It is generally agreed that if a strike were called, it wouldn't be until November, but that if talks broke down, the producers might call for an immediate lockout to force the issue before the lucrative high season.