| Strike Delays Broadway Shows
The stagehand strike that has stalled Broadway shows in New York has entered a third day. Striking stagehands say they will not go back to the bargaining table until Broadway producers start acting 'honorably.' Members of the Local One union say Broadway producers are making false accusations about salaries, and say they're just after the profits and don't want to share with the public or the unions. The work stoppage is affecting more than two dozen plays and musicals. cc/yc Broadway
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A dramatic new approach to the theatrical docudrama
Scottish military veterans recall the pride of their fabled regiment and their fateful, disillusioning service in Iraq. New Yorkers reflect on the disappearance of valued objects and the loss of cherished loved ones. These are shorthand descriptions of two unusual New York hit shows. One is "Black Watch," an exhilarating import from the National Theatre of Scotland, which just finished a run at St. Ann's Warehouse, a Brooklyn theater venue. "Gone Missing" is a diverting original piece by the inventive young troupe The Civilians, now at Off Broadway's Barrow Street Theatre in an extended run through Jan. 6. Though dissimilar in some respects, both pieces reflect a theatrical trend that's steadily gathered steam in recent decades: the rise of documentary drama.
Mullally poised to make big splash on Broadway
On a warm fall afternoon, hordes of pedestrians are pushing their way down a busy street in Times Square. Few, if any, notice the petite, auburn-haired woman speaking quietly on a cell phone and leaning against a delicatessen window. But if anyone had bothered to give her a second glance, they might have recognized the comedy star known worldwide for her work on "Will & Grace," a sitcom that was a fixture on prime-time TV for eight seasons. Celebrity takes you only so far on the Rialto, and New York can be notoriously fickle when it comes to Hollywood performers who yearn for a turn on the Great White Way. For Megan Mullally, the fact that her face is known to millions, that she has won two Emmy Awards and that she's about to headline one of the biggest shows opening on Broadway this season means little.
Strike has limited impact on county
The Rockettes are saving the day for some Connecticut-based ventures trying to overcome the stagehand strike that's darkened parts of Broadway. On Saturday, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local One went on strike, forcing the curtain to remain down on 28 shows, including "Chicago," "Spamalot" and "Rent." But Connecticut-based businesses that otherwise would be hurting because of the strike say the Rockettes and their show at Radio Music City Hall are helping them keep clients and customers traveling between Connecticut and the Great White Way. AAA Connecticut Motor Club's Fran Mayko said Monday the bus tours her organization arranged to New York City probably won't be affected by the strike because there are only two on the schedule in the next three months.
The show must go on
Several Broadway producers sued striking stagehands for $46 million and a New York judge on Wednesday separately ordered a theater 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 Theaters and Producers has said the strike that has darkened some 25 productions since November 10 is costing a total of about $22 million for every day it lasts. The producers in the lawsuit, which was filed late on Tuesday, 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.
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.
Bloomberg Plays Different Role in Strike
Broadway was only four days into a strike in 2003 when New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg pressured both sides to come together and warned of the looming ''severe economic impact'' that could result from the dispute. This time, theaters have been dark for more than a week and the mayor is not only refraining from wagging his finger in public, he's downplaying the potential damage the stagehands strike could cause the city and shrugging off some of the concerns he voiced four years ago. The losses, he said Monday, are mostly contained to the theater industry, and theatergoers counting on Broadway shows may be disappointed. Otherwise, it's hard to quantify any sort of economic setback, and life goes on, he said. ''I think what it hurts more is our reputation, and it's the psychic things rather than dollars,'' he said.
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