FROM: cbc.ca

Most of Broadway goes dark as stagehands strike

Last Updated: Saturday, November 10, 2007 | 11:20 AM ET

Many shows on Broadway will be cancelled as stagehands went on strike on Saturday, according to a producer's trade group.

"Due to a strike by Local One, IATSE stagehands, there will be no performances [Saturday] at many Broadway theatres," said the posting Saturday morning on the website of the League of American Theaters and Producers.

Tickets for Saturday's shows will be reimbursed. Otherwise, credits are also being issued.

On Thursday, after three months of negotiations, the Local One union authorized its members to walk off the job. Workers were told Friday by its parent union to strike, reported the New York Times.

Eight productions with separate agreements with the union will go on as usual: Young Frankenstein, Mary Poppins, Xanadu, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Mauritius, Pygmalion, The Ritz and Cymbeline.

Off-Broadway shows and productions appearing in theatres run by nonprofit organizations will also continue.

The two sides have been wrangling over work rules and staffing requirements. At issue are new rules for stagehands involving how many can work on a particular show and for how long, as well as what duties they can perform.

This strike could hobble Broadway during its most lucrative month of the year: December. The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is traditionally the busiest.

The Times report said League members predicted the strike would last only a few days, while union members felt it could last for weeks.

In March 2003, more than a dozen Broadway shows went dark after a four-day strike by musicians, costing the city millions of dollars.

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From NY1

AFFECTED SHOWS

The following is an unofficial list of Broadway shows that stand to be affected by the stagehands strike.