At 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov 10th, most of the 35 shows now running on Broadway went dark, due to a strike hastily called by Local One, the stagehand’s union. Eight shows, operating under separate union contracts, remained open, and Off-Broadway suddenly saw a surge in ticket sales.
The League of American Theatres and Producers, who have been in negotiations with Local One since July, were not informed when the Union called Saturday morning’s strike. “The core of this dispute is not about wages. .. It is not about benefits .. It is about fairness..” Charlotte St. Martin, President of the League announced in a press conference. All tickets for closed shows will be refunded.
According the the NY Times, the last time Broadway was shuttered – the 2003 musicians strike – cost the city $7 million per day. DCTS columnist, Joel Markowitz, provides a first hand report on what it’s like to be in NYC’s theatre district this weekend. “I’m here on Broadway, and the streets are empty, restaurants are getting cancellations, lots of groups are checking out of hotels today.” Joel Markowitz reported, who is there with his theatre going group The Ushers to take in a full slate of shows for the big holiday weekend.
How they managed despite the strike, their reports of the shows they saw, and Joel’s podcasts with Broadway stars such as Marc Kudisch (The Glorious Ones), Christiane Noll and Hunter Foster (both in Frankenstein The Musical) and Broadway pundit Richard Seff, are here.
