Shows That May Not Re- Open After Strike? — Page 2

Were the strike to last, would they hold over Spelling Bee?

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Do you think they'll bother posting the weekly grosses?

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that's a good question. I have no idea, maybe they will, it could be interesting.

It's possible that this strike will continue for weeks - my guess is that if it isn't settled within the next few days it will last at least a month. Both sides are very far apart, and it can be argued that both sides have valid points. In some cases the old work rules can force producers to spend more than they have to on labor, and the new work rules will result in a significant cut in the Stagehand's earnings. The League and the musician's union were both dug in for a long strike in 2003, but the mayor thwarted their plans with his pressure. I don't think either side was satisfied with the outcome in that case.

If the strike continues I expect numerous shows to post closing notices. Once we get into December the Grinch will certainly close, as will anything else that was going to close in January. Bear in mind that much of this battle is being fought in the arena of public opinion. The producers will loudly proclaim that the selfish strikers have forced shows like Drowsy, Les Mis and even Rent to close, costing the jobs of so many other workers.

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Local 802 when out on Mar. 7 and struck 18 musicals.

From Workers.org. Mar.20,2003
"Broadway bosses made their union-busting intentions plain in contract talks. They wanted to abolish the union's hard-won guaranteed minimum of 24-26 live musicians for each Broadway musical. Producers wanted to cut the minimum to just six musicians.

The union said this is just the start of the theater bosses' plan to do away with live music on Broadway and replace live orchestras with pre-recorded soundtracks."

According to IBDB, http://www.ibdb.com/season.asp?ID=1271, 2 musicals closed in the two months following the strike, "Flower Drum Song" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." In the week prior to the strike "Flower" played at 56% capacity while "Rainey" played ay 55%.

The "Rainey" revival opened on Feb. 6, 2003 with Whoopie Goldberg to poor reviews.
"Drum Song" opened Oct 22, 2002 and had already posted it's notice to close.

It's safe to say the strike had no direct effect on the closings.

The 1960 strike blacked out Broadway for 10 days. The actors were planning to strike a different show each night but management locked them out and closed everything down. This spelled the end for commercial transfer of the City Center revival of FINIAN'S RAINBOW.

But the post strike damage was more severe. Although the blacked out Broadway made headlines heading into the busy summer tourist season, the resolution received less press and attendance was down for weeks after the strike ended.

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It's possible. Anything is possible right now. It's all in how long the strike lasts. I think it might be over somewhere around Thanksgiving. No matter what some people would like to think, the stagehands are NOT trying to shut down Broadway. I have a feeling they'll go back to the bargaining table soon.

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The mayor offered to mediate the discussions between the stagehands and the producers. They turned him down. And the mayor doesn't have the authority to force the stagehands back to work.

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I remember the train strike in 1980. (I know we are talking about broadway strikes but the train strikes affect broadway) The original production of Grease (at that time the longest running show in broadway history) closed because no one on Long Island could get into the city.

I can't really see Andrew and the Really Useful Group closing "Phantom" over the strike, though I'm sure they aren't happy about it. Disney probably isn't either.

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I'm sure this has been asked before, but is Cymbeline dark because of this strike?

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CYMBELINE is running. It was the only thing on TKTS for the Saturday matinee and I wanted to go see it, but ended up going home and taking a nap between checking in at shows.

Thank you! I may try to get out there this week then.

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