STRIKE OVER! Everything You Need to Know!
By: Eugene Lovendusky Nov. 29, 2007
THE BROADWAY STAGEHANDS STRIKE OF 2007 HAS OFFICIALLY COME TO AN END! BroadwayWorld offers the most comprehensive information to guide theatre-fans through the mayhem of rescheduled events and ticket information.
HOW DID IT END?
Following a meeting between The League of American Theatres and Producers Inc. and Local One, the two sides officially came upon a tentative agreement at the bargaining table in the late evening of Wednesday, November 28.
As a testament to the spirit of Broadway and the American tradition of live theatre, shows opened the following evening, Thursday November 29! Check schedules for all productions on www.ILoveNYTheatre.com.
Local One has 10 business-days to choose to ratify the agreement. Details of the new contract are still unannounced, though NY1 has reported the following:- Minimum of 17 stagehands used for production load-in
- Extra hour of continuity call
- 4.5% - 5% stagehand wage increase
- 5-year contract
Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of the The League of American Theatres and Producers reported on camera: "Good evening. We are pleased to announced that we have a tentative agreement with Local One ending the Broadway strike. Performances for all shows will begin tomorrow night (November 29), and scheduled for all conductions will be posted on their website www.ILoveNYTheatre.com. The agreement is a good compromise that serves our industry. What is most important is that Broadway lights will once again be shining brightly with a diversity of productions for the holiday season. We look forward to the season and welcoming our talented stage hands back to Broadway."
President of Local One, James J. Claffey, was greeted with applause as he and his members they held one-finger high in the air before cameras: "Brothers and Sisters of Local One, you've represented yourselves and your families and your union proud. That's enough said right there"
Bruce Cohen, Local One spokesperson, who has officially confirmed the tentative agreement, reported on-cameras: "All I can say is that we're glad there's a deal and everyone should go back to work. The public should go see a Broadway show!"
John Connelly of Actors' Equity reports on-camera: "We couldn't be happier and it's important this time of year for our friends to be back on-stage doing what they do best and the hundreds of thousands of people back in their seats... Actors are ingenious and they'll go back on-stage just as brilliant as they were Opening Night..."
WHAT SHOWS ARE RUNNING?
Every Broadway show is open! They include:
A Bronx Tale (Walter Kerr Theatre)A Chorus Line (Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre)
August: Osage County (Imperial Theatre)
Avenue Q (Golden Theatre)
Chicago (Ambassador Theatre)
Curtains (Al Hirschfeld Theatre)
Cymbeline (Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre)
Cyrano de Bergerac (Richard Rodgers Theatre)
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (St. James Theatre)
Grease (Brooks Atkinson Theatre)
Hairspray (Neil Simon Theatre)
Is He Dead? (Lyceum Theatre)
Jersey Boys (August Wilson Theatre)
Legally Blonde (Palace Theatre)
Les Miserables (Broadhurst Theatre)
Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden)
Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam Theatre)
Pygmalion (American Airlines Theatre)
Rent (New Amsterdam Theatre)
Rock 'n' Roll (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre)
Monty Python's Spamalot (Shubert Theatre)
Spring Awakening (Eugene O'Neill Theatre)
The Color Purple (Broadway Theatre)
The Drowsy Chaperone (Marquis Theatre)
The Farnsworth Invention (Music Box Theatre)
The Lion King (Minskoff Theatre)
The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre)
The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic Theatre)
The Ritz (Studio 54)
The Seafarer (Booth Theatre)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Circle in the Square)
Wicked (Gershwin Theatre)
Xanadu (Helen Hayes Theatre)
Young Frankenstein (Hilton Theatre)
HOW IS BROADWAY CELEBRATING?
BROADWAY'S BACK! BIGGER AND BRIGHTER THAN EVER! On stage at the Marriott Marquis (1535 Broadway, between 45th and 46th St), home of The Drowsy Chaperone, will be a very special free public concert "Broadway's Back!" on Friday, November 30 at 12PM. Doors open to the public at 11:30AM.
Featuring Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Fantasia (The Color Purple), Bob Martin (Tony Award-winning creator of The Drowsy Chaperone), and cast members from every Broadway show on stage performing together, many in costume, to celebrate the return of Broadway and the holiday season. Featuring full orchestra, led by Seth Rudetsky.
For more details, visit www.ILoveNYTheater.com
WHAT ARE THE NEW OPENING NIGHTS?
Many Opening Nights of anticipated Broadway productions got barrel-rolled by the 19-day strike. Fortunately, all affected Opening Nights have been rescheduled as follows:
August: Osage County's
official Broadway opening night is rescheduled for Tuesday, December 4,
2007. The play began preview
performances on October 30, 2007, but the stagehands' strike prompted August to suspend performances and
postpone its official opening at Imperial Theatre (249 W. 45th St). Steppenwolf Theatre announced plans last week
to extend the play's run by three weeks to help recover lost dates from the
strike. The added performances will
extend August's Broadway run through
March 9, 2008.
"When their patriarch vanishes, the Weston clan must return to their three-story home in rural Oklahoma to get to the heart of the matter. With rich insight and brilliant humor, Letts paints a vivid portrait of a Midwestern family at a turning point," state press notes.
The ensemble from Steppenwolf will reprise their roles for the Broadway run: Ian Barford, Deanna Dunagan, Kimberly Guerrero, Francis Guinan, Dennis Letts, Mariann Mayberry, Amy Morton, Sally Murphy, Jeff Perry, Rondi Reed and Troy West. Brian Kerwin joins the cast in New York.The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesdays – Fridays
at 7:30PM, Saturdays at 8PM, Wednesdays & Saturdays at 2PM and Sundays at
3PM. For tickets and information visit www.AugustOnBroadway.com
The Farnsworth Invention, Aaron Sorkin's new American play about the advent of television, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, resumes performances on Thursday, November 29 at the Music Box Theatre. Opening night is now set for Monday, December 3.
"The Farnsworth Invention centers around the bitter conflict that pitted Philo T. Farnsworth (Jimmi Simpson), a boy genius who invented television as a high school student in 1927, against David Sarnoff (Hank Azaria), the head of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The legal battle between Farnsworth and RCA would later become known as one of the great, tragic examples of legal and industrial force combining to crush a rightful patent owner. In a race that would change humanity forever, two men battle one another for honor, glory and a place in the history books," explain press notes.
Show times are: Tuesday evenings at 7pm, Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2pm, Sunday matinees at 3pm. For tickets and information visit www.FarnsworthOnBroadway.com
The 40th Anniversary revival of Harold Pinter's Tony
Award-winning masterwork The Homecoming
will now begin previews on Tuesday, December 4. The production moved into the
theatre today for a four-day tech. Due to a week and a half of lost
performances as a result of the strike, the show will now open on Sunday,
December 16 at 7PM.
"Undoubtedly Pinter's most sexually provocative work, The Homecoming is an edgy and compelling tale of lust, betrayal and seduction, telling the story of a dysfunctional family that welcomes the homecoming of its estranged brother and competes for the attention of his dangerously alluring wife," explain press notes.
The Homecoming stars Ian McShane, Raul Esparza, Eve Best, Michael McKean, Gareth Saxe and James Frain. Tony Award-winner Daniel Sullivan directs.
The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday-Saturday at 8PM, Wednesday & Saturday at 2PM, and Sunday at 3PM. Tickets are currently available thru www.Telecharge.com.The world premiere production of Is He Dead?, a new comedy by master American novelist and satirist Mark Twain, adapted by David Ives, and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Michael Blakemore, resumes performances on Thursday, November 29 at the Lyceum Theatre. Opening night is now set for Sunday, December 9.
"In this newly discovered Mark Twain comedy, the original master of American humor dishes out a sly critique of the art world with acerbic wit and social commentary well ahead of his time. Is He Dead? is a fast-paced play about a struggling artist who stages his own death to drive up the price of his paintings. As the riotous scheme unfolds, Twain poses daring questions about fame, greed and the value of art, and pokes his signature, mischievous fun at everyone involved," explain press notes.
Norbert Leo Butz leads the cast with Jeremy Bobb, Marylouise Burke,
Patricia Conolly, Jenn Gambatese, Byron Jennings, Michael McGrath, John McMartin, David Pittu, Bridget Regan and Tom Alan Robbins.
Performance Schedule November 27 – December 2: Monday
through Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2pm. Performance Schedule from December 3: Tuesday through
Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2pm, Sunday
matinees at 3pm. For tickets and information visit www.ishedead.com
The new Broadway production of Disney's The Little Mermaid will resume performances tonight, Thursday,
November 29. Prior to the canceled
performances due to the recent labor dispute, the show played five sold out
previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street). The
Little Mermaid will now have its official press opening on Thursday,
January 10 at 8PM.
The Little Mermaid is based on the Disney film and the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. The company features Sierra Boggess as 'Ariel,' Sean Palmer as 'Prince Eric,' Norm Lewis as 'King Triton,' Tituss Burgess as 'Sebastian,' Eddie Korbich as 'Scuttle,' Jonathan Freeman as 'Grimsby,' Derrick Baskin as 'Jetsam,' Tyler Maynard as 'Flotsam,' Cody Hanford and J.J. Singleton as 'Flounder,' and Sherie Rene Scott as 'Ursula.'
"The Little Mermaid takes place in a magical kingdom beneath the sea, where a beautiful young mermaid named Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she'll have to defy her father, the king of the sea, escape the clutches of an evil sea witch and convince a prince that she's the girl with the perfect voice," explain press notes.
The Little Mermaid offers a variance in performance schedule from now through the holidays and Opening Night. For a complete list of performance, tickets and information visit www.DisneyOnBroadway.com
The National Theatre of Great Britain's critically acclaimed
production of Conor McPherson's The
Seafarer will resume performances today, November 29 at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45th Street).
The new opening night for The Seafarer
is set for Thursday, December 6.
The production, directed by McPherson, stars Conleth Hill, Ciarán Hinds, Sean Mahon, David Morse, and Jim Norton.
The Seafarer is "a chilling new play about the sea, Ireland, and the power of myth. It's Christmas Eve and Sharky (Morse) has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, aging brother (Norton) who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan (Hill) and Nicky (Mahon) are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. But with the arrival of a stranger (Hinds) from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul," explain press notes.
The Seafarer plays
Tuesday – Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2 PM and
Sunday at 3 PM. For tickets and information visit www.SeafarerThePlay.com
OTHER SHOW NEWS
Beginning December 9, Academy Award nominated actor Chazz Palminteri adds an additional performance of his acclaimed show, A Bronx Tale, on Sundays at 7PM (for the month of December only) at The Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street). Directed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks, the show opened Thursday October 25 for a limited engagement to run through February 10.
In A Bronx Tale, Palminteri brings 18 characters to vivid life, depicting a rough childhood on Bronx streets populated by a cast of friends and enemies. Playing schedule: Tue-Sat at 8 PM, Sat at 2 PM, and Sun at 3 PM. Additional Performances: Sunday, December 9, 16, 23 and 30 at 7pm. For tickets and information visit www.abronxtaleonbroadway.com
Disney's The Lion King can finally celebrate its 10th Anniversary on Broadway tonight, Thursday November 29! Because of the strike, the musical was unable to mark its gala performance on Sunday, November 11 at the Minskoff Theatre. Since its Broadway opening on November 13, 1997 (preview performances began October 15, 1997), The Lion King has been seen by 45 million people worldwide.
Show times are Wednesday through Saturday at 8PM, matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2PM and Sunday at 1PM and 6:30 PM. Running time for the production is approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. For tickets and information visit www.DisneyOnBroadway.com The mega-blockbuster musical Wicked has added an extra performance this Sunday December 2 at 8PM at The Gershwin Theatre (222 West 51st Street).Proceeds from this special performance will
benefit The Actors Fund, the national non-profit organization that provides
help and support for everyone in the entertainment industry. For tickets and information visit www.WickedTheMusical.com
This has been such a testament of hard-work and trust and patience and frustration for EVERYONE in the New York theatre business. From stagehands to producers, actors, dressers, wig makers, make-up, prop hands, musicians, conductors, directors, lighting designers, tech and sound operators, managers, set designers, news reporters, writers, ushers, press representatives, agents, advertisers, merchandise sellers, box office ticket sellers, tourists, restaurant owners, taxi drivers, bar-tenders, chauffeurs, hotel owners and THEATRE FANS & TICKET-BUYERS LIKE YOU!
GO SEE A BROADWAY SHOW!
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