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Broadway lights shine again
29/11/2007 18:29 - (SA)
New York - The curtain was set to go up at more than 20 Broadway theatres for the first time in more than two weeks on Thursday after stagehands called off a strike that has cost the city millions of dollars.
Musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King, which have been closed since stagehands walked out over stalled contract negotiations on November 10, were among the first shows set to reopen to theatregoers.
Producers and stagehands announced late on Wednesday they had reached a deal after more than four days of marathon talks, paving the way for electricians, carpenters and sound and lighting technicians to go back to work.
"The people of Broadway are looking forward to returning to work, giving the theatre-going public the joy of Broadway, the greatest entertainment in the world," said James Claffey, the head of the 2 200-member union for stagehands.
The dispute dates back to July, when producers sought to reduce production costs and complained they were forced to hire an unnecessarily large number of stagehands, while unions accused the theatres of trying to make cutbacks.
The full details of Wednesday's deal were not made public, but Charlotte St Martin, head of the League of American Theatres and Producers, suggested both sides had made concessions to end the dispute.
Strike costing millions
"The contract is a good compromise that serves our industry. What is most important is that Broadway's lights will once again shine brightly," she said.
The strike brought the lights down at some 27 theatres on New York's "Great White Way", and left disappointed ticket holders arriving at theatres to find doors locked and picket lines outside.
Only one show resumed during the strike, after a judge ordered the theatre showing Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! to reopen because only the theatre's landlord was involved in the dispute and not the show's producers.
It was the third time industrial action shut down Broadway in 30 years. The last stoppage, a strike by musicians in 2003, lasted four days.
This year's strike was thought to have cost the city at least $38m and likely more since it closed down some of Broadway's most profitable shows over the lucrative Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend.
However, for shows not run by league members, such as the hit musical Mary Poppins" the stoppage helped ensure sell-out performances. And off-Broadway productions also enjoyed a good run at the box office thanks to the strike.
Business has been booming on Broadway in recent years, with seats at some of the top shows going for more than $500 and foreign tourists snapping up about 1.3 million tickets last year.
'Great news'
The number of Broadway theatregoers overall also has continued to climb, jumping 2.6% from 2006 to 2007, despite a steep hike in ticket prices, while box office receipts increased 8.9% in the same period.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed the end of the strike as "great news not just for everyone who earns their living on or around Broadway, but for everyone who lives in, works in, or visits New York City".
According to the producers' league, Broadway pumps $5bn into the New York economy a year, providing the equivalent of 45 000 jobs.
Despite the end of the Broadway strike, another stoppage, by Hollywood and television screen writers, is still gripping the US entertainment industry, delaying new productions and taking several shows off the air.
- AFP
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South Africa
