NYC's Great White Way Still Black

They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway, but not this Thanksgiving.

A strike that has darkened many Broadway productions continued as talks collapsed between stagehands and theater producers, leading to the cancellation of more than two dozen shows through the coming holiday weekend - one of the most lucrative times for New York's stage industry.

Negotiations broke down Sunday after a weekend of marathon meetings between Local One and the League of American Theatres and Producers. Negotiators met for 12 hours on Saturday alone.

"We are extremely disappointed that we're having to cancel performances through Sunday, November 25," Charlotte St. Martin of the League of American Theater Producers told CBS Station WCBS correspondent Dave Carlin. "Because there are people traveling from around the world, we want to get the world out as quickly as we can because we want them to have the ability to make their plans.

"As no further talks are scheduled there's really nothing more for us to do," St. Martin said.

Producers say they want to stop stagehands from getting more workers than what they believe shows actually need.

Meanwhile, 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. They say producers are demanding they accept a 30-percent pay cut.

A statement from I.A.T.S.E., the stagehands' union, said, "The producers informed Local One that what Local One had offered was simply not enough. The producers then left."

The stoppage amounts to a $7 million per day loss.

The canceled performances of 27 plays and musicals during what is traditionally one of Broadway's best weeks represent millions of dollars of lost income. Some of the biggest hits, such as "Wicked" and "Jersey Boys," regularly gross over $1 million each week. Perennial hits like "Monty Python's Spamalot," "A Chorus Line," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Color Purple" and recent revivals like "A Bronx Tale" are also shut.

Yet the dark week could have an even more devastating effect on shows that are struggling at the box office, such as "The Drowsy Chaperone," or on new productions, which were in previews and had not officially opened when the strike began Nov. 10. They include such plays as "The Farnsworth Invention," "The Seafarer" and "August: Osage County."

One of the shows that would be particularly affected by the canceled week is the limited-engagement holiday musical, "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" The musical has 15 performances scheduled for Thanksgiving week, and would be seriously hurt if it was forced to remain dark.

"It's been really difficult for our show," James Sanna, the "Grinch" producer, said last week in an interview. "Most of the people who buy tickets for our show are families. They plan in advance."

Sanna, who is not a league member, said he was hoping to reopen the musical, but according to the box office no shows will be put on this week.

Eight shows, whose theaters have separate contracts with the league, remain unaffected by the walkout. They include four productions - "Pygmalion," "The Ritz," "Mauritius" and "Cymbeline" - playing at nonprofit theaters, and four other shows: "Young Frankenstein," "Mary Poppins," "Xanadu" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." All off-Broadway productions are open.

And it's not just theatres feeling the pinch: local businesses missing the year-end crowds are suffering, too. Some eateries in the Theatre District are offering bargains in an attempt to draw back the crowds.

Barbetta was closed all of last Tuesday and cancelled lunches every day. It's one of 25 restaurants offering 15-percent discounts for meals this Thanksgiving Week, which owners say are necessary to survive.

"We want to preserve the image of a Times Square that is living, thriving and fun, and not … depressed!" Laura Maioglio of Barbetta told WCBS's Carlin.