Broadway is back in business today as the 19-day stagehand strike comes to an end and actors, musicians, producers and of course stagehands return to work. A spokeswoman for the League of American Theaters and Producers said all the shows that had been idled by the walkout would have performances this evening (November 29).
New opening dates for shows that had been schedule to open during the strike have been announced. Most will be in previews until the official opening. The Farnsworth Invention will open Monday December 3, The Seafarer is schedule to open Thursday December 6, Is He Dead will be opening Sunday December 9 and a new opening date for The Little Mermaid had not been determined at this time. In addition to these openings August: Osage County is set to open on Tuesday December 4.
It was announced at 10:30 on Wednesday night to the cheering stagehands, almost 100 had gathered outside the law offices where the negotiations had taken place. Around 10:45PM the executive director of the League, Charlotte St. Martin, officially announced that “Performances begin tomorrow night”. In a later statement she said “The contract is a good compromise that serves our industry.”
This was the first strike in the stagehands union history, which goes back 121 years. It affected 27 shows on Broadway as well as one Duran Duran concert, which ended up moving to another location.
According to the city comptroller’s office the strike reportedly coast the city $2 million a day, which would mean a lose of almost $40 million over the course of the 19 day strike.
A resolution could not have come at a better time. After losing serious revenue last week with the Thanksgiving holiday, which usually brings in droves of people to New York, it is clear no one wanted this to continue on into the busy Christmas holiday season.
