A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES!!!

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 12:02pm

I am so upset over this strike. Both sides have acted so irresponsibly. What neither side seems to understand are the adverse long-term effects of this strike. Many people will be turned-off by this strike and will not come back to Broadway. Broadway is not sustained by hard-core fans like us- it's sustained by people who see 1-4 shows a year- and a significant chunk of those people will stay home or not go to Broadway shows anymore.

The last baseball strike had hurt attendance levels for 5 years and had Sosa/McGuire not started hitting homeruns, the strike's ill effects would have continued longer.

I don't care anymore about who's right and who's wrong. After this strike is over, there will be less Broadway shows open and less earnings for producers, stagehands and everybody else who works on Broadway. Unfortunately it's the actors who end up getting screwed the most.Don't be surprised to see many Broadway actors decamp for LA to do film and TV.

[Craig]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 12:08pm

I think both sides do, in fact, understand the adverse long-term effects of the strike. That doesn't mean either side is going to altar their stance though.

[Taka]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 12:11pm

Color me stupid, but I don't understand why people would be scared off by a strike once the strike is over.

[bardolator]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 12:24pm

Not so much scared, I think, as turned off. A lot of the people who spend money on a big once-a-year trip don't have a clue as to what's really happening; based on what I've seen and heard, some of them just know that "Broadway is on strike" and lump everyone in the business together in both what they (mis)understand and in their resulting wrath.

[TM1162]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 12:26pm

It's not so much the after the strike is over, its the people (and groups) that are making future plans.
We have already cancelled our December trip to NYC and have decided to go to Arizona for our 10 day Easter vacation instead of NYC (where we spent 10K last year).
Also the spring 'show plane' from here has already sent out an email asking us to vote on where we would rather go this year (it's always been NYC.... but they don't want to take a chance, especially since they don't know what shows may not reopen).

[SNAFU]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 12:33pm

Yes it is the old "Fool me once..." adage. People will plan other vacations because this recent strike seemed (to the general public at large) to come out of nowhere.
What is worse though is if the strike does go on for a long time, everyone who is hit by it finacially by it will find it takes a long time to recover. Lost wages and earnings are exactly that lost. It can raise havoc on someone with a family and a mortgage. It is amazing how fast one can go through savings.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 1:12pm

Jesus, stop whining already, it only makes you look just as bad as the stagehands and the producers.

It is what it is. Sure it's bad, and sure it could turn some people away from Broadway, but there's NOTHING we can do.

Just be glad there are some shows still running.

[jpbran]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 2:57pm

THANK GOD someone finally started a thread about this strike!!! Was wondering if anyone was going to finally break the silence on BWW concerning the strike!



*rolls eyes in a complete 360...*

[Dover]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 4:46pm

"Color me stupid, but I don't understand why people would be scared off by a strike once the strike is over."

I'm an Equity member who works occasionally on Broadway and I'M scared about what happens once the strike is over. If someone told me they'd be planning a trip to NY in summer '08, I'd say "you might not want to book those plane tickets just yet."

Once the strike is settled, the biggest question to me is what happens in June when Equity's contract ends. Is the League going to put us through all of this again? This has to be settled fairly or else we could be seeing it almost every year if the League gets it in their heads that they can impose whatever they want on the unions.

So I think the long-term effect is that even when a settlement is reached THIS TIME, I think the underlying issues and bad blood will remain into future negotiations.

[Taka]

Posted: 11/20/07 at 4:53pm

Thanks. That makes sense.