| (AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-14 20:38 GMT: In Focus: Broadway strike hits chains
NEW YORK (AP) - The Broadway stagehands' strike may seem like an issue only for local business, but its impact could extend far beyond the Great White Way, as declining foot traffic reduces the number of visitors to the outlets of national chain stores, restaurants and hotels. The walkout, which has closed more than two dozen Broadway theaters, entered its fifth day Wednesday with no negotiations planned. The impasse has left tourists adrift and turned the normally crowded Times Square into a comparative ghost town. During a typical year, visitors spend about $5 billion on entertainment, including Broadway shows and other activities, according to NYC & Co., the city's official marketing and tourism organization. City Comptroller William Thompson estimated the economic impact of the strike at $2 million a day, including total spending on tickets, dining, shopping and other activities.
Strike Is 'a Silver Lining' for Off-Broadway
With all but eight Broadway theaters dark, off-Broadway shows could notice a surge of interest in the busy weeks ahead, industry experts say. On Saturday morning, the stagehands union, Local One, went on strike following months of tense labor negotiations with the League of American Theaters and Producers. Both parties have expressed interest in returning to the negotiating table, but refused to speculate on when that could happen, and would not comment on how long the work stoppage could last. Sales of discounted ticket at the TKTS booths in Times Square and at the South Street Seaport were up over the weekend, with many off-Broadway shows selling out, a spokesman for the Theater Development Fund, which runs the booths, said. Also, traffic doubled at Off-Broadway.com, a Web site with information about off-Broadway theaters and shows, the Web site manager, David Risley, said.
Off-Broadway Biz Booms During Stalemate
With most of Broadway dark because of the stagehands strike, business is booming off-Broadway, especially for those theaters in the Times Square area. No new negotiations have been scheduled between Local One, the stagehands union, and the League of American Theatres and Producers. The stalemate has forced theatergoers to find other attractions, and off-Broadway has some 48 productions now playing, according to the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers. On Monday in the theater district, people were passing out flyers advertising off-Broadway shows -- defined as productions in theaters with fewer than 499 seats. Jeramy Peay, promoting the off-Broadway musical Altar Boyz, said some people think all theaters are closed and don't realize that off-Broadway shows are open for business.
Megan Mullally is in no hurry to leave her ‘Will & Grace' character behind
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.
Broadway stagehands go on strike
NEW YORK -- From "Wicked" to "The Phantom of the Opera," from "Mamma Mia!" to "Rent," most shows did not go on as Broadway stagehands walked off the job, shutting down more than two dozen plays and musicals. It was a dramatic, uncertain day in the Times Square area for disappointed theatergoers, who mingled on the streets Saturday while striking Local One stagehands picketed in an orderly fashion behind barricades and declined to talk to reporters. The union had no official comment on the walkout. No new negotiations have been scheduled between Local One and the League of American Theatres and Producers, so the outlook for a quick settlement looks murky. The two sides have been in contentious negotiations for more than three months. Much of their disagreements involve work rules and staffing requirements, particularly rules governing the expensive process of loading in and setting up a show.
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