Sour Notes Continue On Broadway
After a weekend of lights out on Broadway, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called musicians and producers back to negotiations Monday.
The two sides began around-the-clock negotiating sessions with a mediator Monday evening, Bloomberg spokesman Ed Skyler said.
"I pointed out to them the severe economic impact on a city still recovering from the terrible tragedy of the September 11th attack, the financial hardships being experienced by those employed in this and related industries and the disappointment of theatergoers from around the world that the strike was causing," Bloomberg said.
Hundreds of visitors to New York waited in lines Monday to get their money back, since the musicians strike has shut down Broadway musicals.
This is not what Drew and Kalli Ziegler of North Carolina came to see, CBS News reports.
"We wanted to see 3 shows; We wanted to see the "Phantom," "The Producers" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie," they told CBS News.
Instead they spent the day trying to get a rain check or in this case, a strike check.
On Monday evening, the League of American Theatres and Producers said it was "prepared to negotiate night and day to achieve a fair and equitable settlement so we can get on with the show."
As he entered the mayoral mansion to begin negotiations Monday night, David Nyberg, a percussionist with "Mamma Mia," said musicians were "hoping for a fair settlement. We've been working really hard for this. I expect the mediator to work on both sides."
The producers declined to comment before the negotiations.
Officials of the League of American Theatres and Producers and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians haven't spoken since Friday, when 18 of Broadway's 19 musicals, including "Hairspray," "The Lion King," "Mamma Mia!" and "The Phantom of the Opera," went dark.
Producers met Monday and canceled the evening performances of "Chicago," "Rent," "Urban Cowboy" and "Phantom of the Opera." Monday is generally a dark night for most shows.
Shutting down the 18 shows has cost about $1.2 million per performance in lost box-office revenue, Bernstein said. The city's tourism office estimated weekend losses for ancillary businesses, such as restaurants, hotels and taxis, at more than $7 million.
Picketing continued at all musical houses except Studio 54 where "Cabaret," which operates under a separate contract, was the only Broadway musical playing.
Seven dramatic plays, including "Take Me Out," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and "Vincent in Brixton," remained opened, as did all off-Broadway productions, both plays and musicals.
It was the decision by the actors and stagehands not to cross picket lines that forced producers to shut down their shows. Until then, they had planned to use computer-generated, virtual orchestras to replace the striking musicians.
During initial negotiations, the producers demanded no minimum number of musicians, then offered seven, raised it to 14 and, on Friday, to 15 for the biggest theaters, which currently require 24 to 26 musicians.
The union has refused each proposal. They fear that producers are seeking to slash the number of musicians for economic reasons, and say staff minimums help protect artistic latitude.