Feuding Broadway Players Resume Talks

Broadway's stagehands and theater producers resumed talks at an undisclosed location in their first meeting since a walkout by Local 1 shut down more than two dozen plays and musicals.

The two sides met Saturday for the first time since Nov. 8, when Thomas C. Short, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, gave the local authority to strike. The walkout two days later forced 27 productions to cancel shows during the run-up to one of the most lucrative times of the year for Broadway, Thanksgiving week.

Local 1 and the League of American Theatres and Producers would not comment on the resumption of talks.

Pressure to settle the contract dispute is increasing as the holiday approaches and losses mount for the shows, which include some of Broadway's biggest hits such as "Wicked," "Jersey Boys," "The Phantom of the Opera," "The Lion King" and "Mamma Mia!"

Ticket sales for Thanksgiving week could easily top $1 million for several of those shows. One limited-run, holiday attraction, "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" has 15 performances scheduled for next week to take advantage of the crowds expected in the city for the start of the Christmas shopping season.

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.