| New York stagehand strike brings down curtain on Broadway shows
The curtain has come down on Broadway's plays and musicals after a stagehand strike that threatens to drag on into the Christmas season, disappointing thousands of tourists and costing New York millions in lost revenue. The strike, which entered its third day today with no resolution in sight, has closed 27 shows, including The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia!, Wicked and Dr Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which opened the morning the strike began. The stoppage pits the largest stagehands' union, Local One, against the League of American Theaters and Producers. They have been in fruitless negotiations for three months since contracts expired in July. It also comes as writers in Hollywood continue their week-long strike, which has greatly disrupted television schedules and forced many networks to air re-runs and postpone new series.
King Solomon Lives: A Nubian Love Story
Apparently King Solomon has a lot to teach us here in the modern age � at least, that�s the premise behind local playwright/director Danny Hodges�s majestically titled King Solomon Lives: A Nubian Love Story. The play (which is Broadway bound, by the way) starts in 1996 with a boy named David who�s down about the fact that his parents have split. His grandfather comes to the rescue with a bedtime story about King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The bedtime story fades to a long dream sequence that takes place in the year 976 B.C., with David and the audience transported back to King Solomon�s Egypt. Expect lots of enthusiastic dancing and great music (think Lion King with divorced parents). Even though King Solomon Lives hits the audience on the head with its moral, there�s a kitschy audacity to the show that�s irresistible.
Broadway strike could be felt locally
If you think that the strike currently crippling Broadway has no impact on Torontonians unless they were planning to visit the Big Apple to catch some plays, then think again. The ripple effect from the current labour dispute could have long-term effects on our local theatre scene both from a financial and artistic point of view. Wver since the morning of Nov. 10, when Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees declared a work stoppage against the League of American Theatres and Producers, 27 of the playhouses on the Great White Way have been dark. (Eight theatres are still open, four because of their not-for-profit status and four due to independent agreements signed with the union.) This means that shows like Jersey Boys, Wicked and The Lion King (each of which were grossing over $1 million a week before the strike) have had to close their doors during the most lucrative weeks of the theatre season.
Broadway producers sue strikers
SEVERAL Broadway producers sued striking stagehands for $US35 million ($39.2 million) and a New York judge today separately ordered a theatre to allow Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical to reopen. Producers of nine shows sued members of Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and its president James Claffey Jr in Manhattan federal court seeking to recover damages for lost revenues. The League of American Theatres and Producers has said the strike that has darkened some 25 productions since November 10 is costing a total of about $US17 million ($19 million) for every day it lasts. The producers in the lawsuit, which was filed late yesterday, are part of the long-running shows Wicked, Hairspray, The Drowsy Chaperone, Rent, and The Lion King and newer shows Grease, Legally Blonde, Cyrano De Bergerac and The Little Mermaid.
Broadway Talks Continue, No Deal Yet
No deal yet. So far the first new talks to end the week long Broadway strike have not produced an agreement between striking stagehands and show producers. Saturday morning, the first concrete steps towards ending the strike were taken. Negotiators for the League of American Theatre Owners and Producers met in midtown with the leaders of the Stagehands Union."They're talking, which is a good sign," said a striking stagehand.While they talk -- local businesses wait. The walk-out is costing the city millions of dollars a day. While hotels remain nearly full in the theater district, restaurants are suffering.Business has been going down 70 to 80 percent. With the strike now threatening the normally busy Thanksgiving week, 25 restaurants are offering 15-percent discounts to entice customers.The phone isn't ringing," the co-owner of B.
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