Lights on Broadway Back on?

Date: 12 Mar 2003 06:22:34 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.gossip.celebrities
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Broadway Musicians End Strike After Deal
By MICHAEL KUCHWARA
AP Drama Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- After a four-day walkout that cost the city $10 million,
Broadway musicians settled the first strike on the Great White Way in nearly 30
years Tuesday by agreeing to cut the number of orchestra players a show must
hire.
The breakthrough came during an all-night negotiating session set up by Mayor
Michael Bloomberg as the walkout by about 325 musicians began costing theaters,
restaurants and hotels vital tourism dollars in a city already ailing
financially.
"Broadway is no longer dark," Bloomberg said in announcing the agreement that
allowed 18 musicals, including "The Producers," "The Lion King," "Mamma Mia!"
and "Hairspray," to resume Tuesday night.
To prove it, producer Barry Weissler of "Chicago" took to the stage of the
sold-out Ambassador Theatre before the start of the evening performance and
announced, "I welcome you to the reopening of our show and the reopening of all
of Broadway.
"The turmoil is over and there is love in the air," he said as the crowd roared
its approval. The enthusiasm over the relighting of shows was contagious. AP VIDEO
Bloomberg: Broadway is no longer dark
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Crystal Heitman, a student on spring break from the University of Notre Dame in
South Bend, Ind., said she started screaming after learning the strike had been
settled.
"I've always been a big fan of musicals and one of the big reasons that I came
up here this week was to see a show," she said.
Broadway's economic contribution to the city is estimated at more than $4
billion yearly.
The strike, which began Friday and was honored by actors and stagehands, shut
down all but one of Broadway's 19 musicals. By Tuesday, it had cost the city
$10 million in lost box-office receipts and revenue from other businesses,
according to city tourism officials.
At the center of the dispute was the number of musicians required for a
Broadway orchestra. The union agreed to reduce the minimum in the 13 largest
theaters to 18 or 19 musicians, down from 24 to 26 in the very biggest houses.
"The musicians had a very strongly held artistic belief, and so did the
producers, about how to determine the right size orchestra to play for a
particular project," said Jed Bernstein, head of the League of American
Theatres and Producers. "I think both of us are very confident that we got to a
good place."
The mayor brought the two parties together after they failed to talk during a
long weekend that saw musicians, actors and stagehands on picket lines and
disgruntled theatergoers lining up for refunds or ticket exchanges. The final
round of negotiations lasted nearly 12 hours.
"Both sides understood that they had to resolve this," said union official Bill
Dennison. "There was no escaping finding a solution."
Although the new contract is for four years, the minimum number will remain in
effect for a decade, said Bill Moriarity, head of Local 802 of the American
Federation of Musicians. Union members will vote on the offer later this week,
most likely Saturday.
When the strike began, producers vowed to keep shows running and replace the
musicians with computer-generated virtual orchestras. But when Actors' Equity,
the performers union, and the stagehands refused to cross picket lines, the
musicals had to close.
The last time Broadway musicians went on strike was in September 1975, when
nine musicals were shut down for 25 days.
The producers initially demanded no minimums on the number of musicians per
show, then offered seven and later 15. The union charged that producers were
trying to save money at the cost of artistic quality.
"I'm glad they settled, but I think it's unfortunate that they had to reduce
the minimum," said Glenn Dolan of Millburn, N. J., as he bought two tickets to
"Man of La Mancha." "I think it will compromise the quality of the sound."
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