| 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.
Harriet Howard Heithaus: Performances override silly story
Coconut cream pie is a wonderful confection, a dessert that can lure you into making a thick slice of it a guilty dinner. You're in for digestive troubles, however, if that pie that you've substituted for meat and vegetables turns out to be not the authentic marriage of milk, sugar, eggs and fruit your mother made, but a supermarket mound of whipped soy laced with chemical flavor. Franz Lehar's “The Merry Widow" carries similar caveats in its confection of of happy music, incredible characters and inane premise. If it's not produced faithfully and presented boldly, an evening that should be frothy fun ends up sitting heavily in the stomach. Czech Opera Prague, which presented the piece at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts Thursday, occasionally tests the cream-pie theory, playing contemporary with the supertitle dialogue (“He's taking the Starbucks cure — a triple espresso!"), while big chunks are left untranslated for the clueless audience.
Tattle | Did Rhys Meyers 'Rush' to the bar?
SURE, WARNER BROS. is looking for publicity for "August Rush," but we already have Keri Russell on the Yo! cover. Her co-star, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, didn't have to get himself arrested. Rhys Meyers, who served an alcohol rehab stint in April, was charged Sunday with public drunkenness and breach of the peace at Dublin Airport. The actor was arrested after police twice confronted him over his erratic, abusive behavior at an airport gate and at a desk of the British airline BMI, on which he was planning to fly to London. Police charged him with two counts of violating the Public Order Act, then permitted him to pay an undisclosed cash bail on condition he return to Dublin on Dec. 5 for his arraignment. From land mines to bovines When she's not fuming at Paul McCartney or the media these days, Heather Mills is fuming at .
Day 12: August Extends, Mermaid Postpones and the Strike Goes On
There seems to be little movement in the ongoing stagehands strike, which enters its 12th day Nov. 21. The two opposing sides � Local One, the stagehands union, and the League of American Theatres and Producers � have yet to agree on a date for another round of negotiations. Bruce Cohen, a spokesperson for Local One, told Playbill.com Nov. 20 that the union has asked the League to reconvene on Nov. 25 in order to try to end the labor dispute that has darkened 27 Broadway theatres. "Local One has only asked the League to meet on Sunday, but we've heard no reply," Cohen said. Alan Cohen, the League's spokesperson, said, "There are discussions about a meeting on Sunday, but nothing has been scheduled yet." What has been announced, however, is the postponement of the opening of Disney's The Little Mermaid, which was originally scheduled for Dec.
Striking Broadway stagehands, producers talk again
NEW YORK -- Broadway stagehands and theater producers met again Sunday, the second day of intense negotiations to find a solution to a strike that has shut down 27 plays and musicals for more than a week. The union, Local 1, and the League of American Theatres and Producers would not comment on the resumption of the talks. They had met for more than 12 hours Saturday in a theater-district hotel. Pressure has mounted for a solution to the work stoppage, which began Nov. 10, because Monday starts the lucrative Thanksgiving holiday week, one of Broadway's best weeks of the year. The stagehands -- who include scenery and prop handlers, carpenters, electricians, and lighting and sound technicians -- have been working without a contract since the end of July. Negotiations have focused on work rules -- how many stagehands are required to open a Broadway show and keep it running.
The Big Apple
Manhattan is as great as ever. There is something for everyone in the city that never sleeps. My fiance'� and I went up recently and were able to catch the great show, "Jersey Boys," which is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' rise to musical fame. The play has great drama, and all the great sons from Frankie Valli.
Other Broadway productions now playing include: "Hairspray," "The Color Purple," "Legally Blonde," "The Drowsey Chaperone," "Mary Poppins," and "The Lion King," among others.
Most shows start at 8 p.m. with some matinees at 2 p.m.
Then there's food, glorious food. New York City offers so many opportunities for great cuisine. New Yorkers and tourists love the great restaurants: Sardi's, Tavern on the Green, he Boat House in Central Park, as well as many others.
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