Broadway Shows Ny

When talks between striking stagehands and theater producers resume this weekend, James Sanna, like everyone else on Broadway, will be watching the negotiations closely.

Sanna is the producer of "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical." Of the 27 shows shut by Local 1's dispute with the League of American Theatres and Producers, "Grinch" is the only holiday show and has a limited run.

"It's been really difficult for our show," Sanna said Thursday. "Most of the people who buy tickets for our show are families. They plan in advance.

"So even the looming threat of a strike was hurting our sales. And obviously, the strike itself is devastating when we had seven shows that were sold out just disappear."

And this week hasn't been any better — with the prospect of 12 more canceled performances for an engagement scheduled to end Jan.

PLAYBILL ON OPENING NIGHT: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical — Lean, Mean and Green

For the second time in as many days, a green-skinned monster invaded Broadway: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical bowed at the St. James on Nov. 9, one day after its previous Broadway home (the Hilton) was taken over by that rampaging mass of used body parts Young Frankenstein, stitched together and struck with lightning.

"Struck" turns out to be an unfortunate choice of word. Ten hours after its opening-night party at the Tropic Zone at Seventh and 49th Street, it became How the Stagehands Stole the Grinch. Its 11 AM Saturday matinee was the first show not to go on because of the walk out by Local One, the stagehands union, that shuttered 27 Broadway houses. And because this limited-run musical is on a 12-to-15-performance week (almost twice the normal performance schedule for Broadway shows), it stands to lose the most from the strike.

Broadway strike disappoints fans traveling to NY on bus tours

Madge Liss has one of the most coveted tickets on Broadway, but she's not sure if she'll get to use it.

The 77-year-old is supposed to see the musical "Jersey Boys" on Dec. 6 on a trip that her senior citizens club began planning in October 2006. Yet the stagehands strike could leave Liss, and about 55 of her friends, in the lurch.

"They've been hanging on to our money for a year. Now they're going to cancel us?" Liss said. "To have to wait a whole year for a ticket and then have it canceled is very
disappointing."

Liss isn't out of luck just yet, since shows have only been canceled through Sunday. But there's a chance her group, from Southampton, Pa., will join the many group bus tours that haven't made it to Manhattan since Broadway stages went dark Nov.

B'way talks to resume

With the lucrative Thanksgiving week looming, striking Broadway stagehands and theater producers say they will start talking again on Saturday. Local 1 and the League of American Theatres and Producers jointly announced yesterday that they will resume negotiations "at an undisclosed place and time." Thanksgiving weekend is one of the best times for business on Broadway, with many shows selling out. It may have added to pressure for the union and producers to reignite their deadlocked negotiations, which have languished since last week. "Today's announcement . . . is a very important step forward," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The stagehands walked off the job Saturday, shutting down 27 plays and musicals. (AP)

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A second day of dark theaters and disappointed audiences on Broadway

NEW YORK (AP) — It was a second day of dark Broadway theaters and disappointed audiences as striking stagehands reaffirmed their commitment Sunday to remain off the job until producers started acting ``honorably'' at the negotiating table.James J. Claffey Jr., president of Local One, said the League of American Theatres and Producers needs to make a ``constructive'' adjustment to its counter offers.``We want respect at the table,'' he said at a somber news conference. ``If there's no respect, they will not see Local One at the table. The lack of respect is something we are not going to deal with.''Twenty-seven shows remained closed Sunday, the day after stagehands went on strike, shutting down such popular productions as ``Wicked,'' ``The Phantom of the Opera,'' ``Hairspray,'' ``Jersey Boys'' and ``Mamma Mia!''Among the shows canceled Sunday was a gala 10th-year anniversary performance of ``The Lion King,'' although a party celebrating the Disney musical's decade-long run was still being held.Producers of ``August: Osage County,'' a play by Tracy Letts from Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, said they may postpone its scheduled Nov.

Few Broadway shows for Thanksgiving

There will be few Broadway shows this Thanksgiving as talks between stagehands and theater producers to end the nine-day walkout collapsed Sunday night, NY1 news channel reported yesterday.

"I can inform you that the talks have broken off and the producers have informed Local One and what Local One had offered was not enough and that the producers have left the negotiation," said Local One spokesman Bruce Cohen.

The union represents 3,000 property persons, stage and studio electricians, set carpenters, sound designers, audio technicians, moving-light operators, riggers and special effects people in New York.

The League of American Theatres and Producers (LATP) then promptly announced theaters would remain dark through Nov. 25, knocking out a potential US$30 million in income.

The show won't go on ...

A second day of talks between striking stagehands and Broadway producers broke down last night, leaving shows in the dark for at least another week at the start of one of Broadway's most lucrative periods all year, producers said last night.

"Out of respect for our public and our local theatergoers, many of whom are traveling from around the world, we regret that we must cancel performances through Sunday, Nov. 25," Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the League of American Theatres and Producers, said in a statement last night.

Producers walked away from the table at a theater district hotel after 12 hours of negotiations, telling the stagehands' union that its offers "were not enough," said a representative of Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.