Nov 29, 2007 4:30 pm US/Mountain
Broadway Producers Celebrate End To Strike
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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No details were revealed about the new pact that ended the 19-day walkout, which shuttered 26 Broadway shows and cost the city an estimated $38 million.
AP
Broadway producers were in a celebratory mood Thursday, the day after they and stagehands reached a deal ending a nearly three-week strike.
The League of American Theatres and Producers said a free concert would be held noon Friday at the Marquis Theatre. Performers from every Broadway production were expected to take part "to celebrate Broadway's return," the announcement said
Everyone is happy that the strike is now history.
"A tentative agreement between the Broadway stagehands and theater producers is great news not just for everyone who earns their living on or around Broadway, but for everyone who lives in, works in, or visits New York City," Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement.
It was smiles and handshakes; applause and signs of "We're No. 1." The jubilation erupted after three rounds of marathon negotiating sessions in which the striking stagehands and Broadway producers finally agreed on a new five-year-contract:
According to Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the League of American Theatres and Producers, "The agreement is a good compromise that serves our industry. What is most important is that Broadway lights will once again be shining brightly."
No details were revealed about the new pact that ended the 19-day walkout, which shuttered 26 Broadway shows and cost the city an estimated $38 million.
It's believed the union got a wage hike they're comfortable with in exchange for changes in archaic work rules:
Local One President James J. Claffey, Jr. said, "Brothers and sisters of Local One: You represent yourselves and your families and your union proud. That's enough said."
He added, "The people of Broadway are looking forward to returning to work, giving the theatre-going public the joy of Broadway, the greatest entertainment in the world."
To the actors who've been sidelined since November 10, this is welcome news.
Tituss Burgess, an actor in Disney's "The Little Mermaid," said, "I am thrilled. Hopefully the damage is not too bad to other shows. We hope everyone jumps back in where we left off."
"Drowsy Chaperone" actress JoAnne Worley said, "We all waited to have a Merry Christmas."
The producers of "Chicago" said tickets to the musical's Thursday reopening would be sold at the box office at a discounted $26.50.
The end of the walkout means a scramble for new opening nights for several shows that were in previews when the strike hit. They include Aaron Sorkin's "The Farnsworth Invention," "August: Osage County" from Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company and an adaptation of a long-lost Mark Twain comedy, "Is He Dead?"
Disney's "The Little Mermaid" already has announced it would push back its scheduled Dec. 6 opening -- with a new date still to be set.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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