7am update talks are off till 6:30pm tonight- Page 3

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 5:58pm

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, mutha****a!

[whatever2]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 6:14pm

could be, but the posts were more explicit than that.

[roadguy]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 6:22pm

billynj, moans about the stagehands earning a living while "not doing anything" yet here he is wasting his boss's money from his "warm office" making useless posts on a website when he should be doing his OWN JOB!!!!!

HYPOCRITE


"it sucks waiting for this to be over from my warm office, it must really suck to be waiting for it to be over outside the marquis"

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 6:25pm

"whatever happened yesterday with the posts from people who had friends in shows that were told to report to the theatre?"

The poster whose friend was in TLM confirmed that they were called to the theater so that the cast could be told about the new date for opening night.

[ShowtuneRick]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 6:37pm

"...they cant be soo dumb as to not want to work those cush jobs till March 2008..."

Amen billynj! I know many stagehands who are fantastic at their job but I've run into more than I'd like to mention who are in it to make the easy buck. I have lots of respect for some but it seems that the ones making the most noise at my theater are also the ones who happen to be the laziest. It's starting to tick me off.

[billynj]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:21pm

variety.com 6pm tonight

Broadway strike talks promising
Hopes for settlement increasing
By DAVID ROONEY, GORDON COXBoth sides are staying tight-lipped about details but stagehands and producers have indicated that progress has been made in their ongoing negotiations. Optimism rippled through the theater community Monday, as hope spread that a settlement might soon be reached in the strike that has darkened much of Broadway since Nov. 10.
As the Rialto shutdown enters its third week, a marathon 20-hour negotiation session wrapped around 6:30am Monday, which yielded positive signals for the first time since the labor dispute over stagehands' compensation began. Following the extended discussions at a midtown law firm, negotiators called for a 12-hour break, with talks resuming at 7 p.m. Monday.

Reps for the striking stagehands' union, Local One, and for the League of American Theaters and Producers both have agreed not to discuss terms of the negotiations with press, for fear of jeopardizing a still-delicate situation. However, Bruce Cohen, the spokesperson for Local One, commented that the two sides were getting closer to an agreement.

The last round of negotiations had ended bitterly the previous weekend, prompting producers to cancel all perfs for the shows affected by the strike through the Thanksgiving weekend. As talks began on Sunday, Herschel Waxman, head of labor negotiations for the powerhouse Nederlander group, said he was confident a deal would be reached.

City officials have estimated that the strike, which has caused more than 25 productions to halt performances, is costing New York $2 million a day, pegging losses for the 17 days since the dispute began at $34 million. The League maintains that losses are north of $8 million per day, insisting they will climb considerably higher if the stoppage continues through the lucrative holiday period.

In addition to lost box office, theater district businesses including restaurants, souvenir stores and parking lots are hurting, while unofficial sources also say the city's tourism and hotel revenues are being impacted by vistors canceling their New York trips.

Also suffering significant losses is industry charity org Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which runs the largest of its two annual fund drives during this period, with actors soliciting donations from audiences and making front-of-house collections after each performance. Executive director Tom Viola estimates that the strike has cost the charity as much as $350,000 per week in donations.

Making up a portion of the shortfall, the cast of the Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming," which was scheduled to begin previews Nov. 23, staged a free benefit rehearsal Sunday, during which close to $4,200 in donations for BC/EFA was collected.

In one of the first signs that Local One was vulnerable to pressure building due to the union's holdout position, the org sent out an appeal letter over the holiday weekend to its "brothers and sisters" of Actors Equity, calling for continuing solidarity through the difficult and divisive negotiations. The letter cited the League's attempt to drive a wedge between stagehands and thesps, with Local One pledging to support Equity should the actors find themselves at the negotiating table with producers in the future.

With grosses for the Thanksgiving week totaling a little more than a quarter of box office for the same frame last season, the entire Gotham legit sector now appears focused on putting differences aside and getting shuttered shows up and running again.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:26pm

I think this may be it, folks.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:27pm

It as in good? Or it as in bad?

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:29pm

"It" as in what we've been waiting for for the past seventeen days. You know, that "it."

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:29pm

HUZZAH!

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:35pm

Well, it turns out the only reason the actors were to report to the theater yesterday was for talks about re-scheduling opening nights. Equity says that the full cast must be present along with an Equity rep when they have to re-schedule an Opening Night and there are also a bunch of other things that they have to do. But, the good news is that they have rescheduled the show for the near future which means that the producers are pretty faithful that the strike will end.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:48pm

Near future as in before December 16 near future?

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:49pm

Around then. Updated On: 11/26/07 at 07:49 PM

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:50pm

I wonder how long they'll hold-out tonight...

I'm hoping for the final chapter to be inked tonight.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:53pm

I can confidently say that this will all be over in time to make the morning papers.

[StageFan2]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:58pm

Glinda for president!

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 7:59pm

I sure hope so! I leave for the city on Thursday and it would be a great Christmas present if I ended up getting to see The Little Mermaid that evening.

I really feel like the League and Local One are trying to move this way forward with open minds and a good attitude.

I'm so anxious for tomorrow morning!

[localonecrew]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 8:05pm

my prediction from friday still holds. back to work by wed mat. we will have given up some stuff, the league will have given up some stuff, and the world will keep on spinnin' round!

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 8:12pm

localonecrew...what would the members of broadwayworld have done if you weren't here to keep us informed?

Thanks!

[alex2155]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 8:17pm

Are the performers having any rehearsals during the strike to make sure choreography and singing stay tight and don't drop in quality due to all this time off?

[JRybka]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 8:19pm

i cant wait for this to end so we can talk about who is the better glinda or elphaba....

(Sorry I kid but I love!)

And it was Megan Hilty and Julia Murney BTW.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 8:24pm

Omg, lyke, I know, Megan and Julia were lyke totally the best Glinda and Elphie in the history of the whole entrie world!

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 8:33pm

No. No rehearsals.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 8:37pm

Unless you're in The Homecoming. They said last night all they've been doing is rehearsing.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 8:38pm

Shows that were in rehearsal before the strike are still rehearsing, I don't know about currently running shows.