Broadway Roars Back to Life After Strike

Labor Agreement Turns Picket Lines Into Ticket Lines

The agreement between stagehands and producers paves the way for shows such as "August: Osage County" (with Deanna Dunagan) to open. (By Joan Marcus -- Steppenwolf Theatre Company Via Associated Press)

NEW YORK, Nov. 29

The Lion King growled at the stage door and the cast of "Spamalot" sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" Thursday to celebrate their returns to Broadway after the 19-day stagehands' strike was settled with producers.

Most of the nearly two dozen plays and musicals affected by the strike were back onstage Thursday evening, to the delight of thousands of theater lovers and tourists who had arrived to a quieter New York. The theater strike coincided with the walkout by television and film writers that has left the studio doors of "Saturday Night Live," "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "Late Show With David Letterman" shuttered.

The stagehands reached a tentative five-year agreement with the League of American Theatres and Producers late Wednesday, after three days of intensive negotiations brought an end to one of the longest work stoppages in Broadway history. The union members will vote on the terms Dec. 9.

By yesterday morning, dozens of picket lines had vanished. By mid-morning at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, which was featuring "The Little Mermaid," there was a long line of people hoping for choice seats. Bob Okulski, a 53-year-old Manhattan lawyer, got two center orchestra seats for Friday night -- which he said almost made up for losing his seats last week when the show went dark.

Visiting from Scotland, Trudi Reid spent her last vacation day trying to buy a ticket for almost anything that was available. "It would be nice," said Reid, 36, a social worker, who had come early to a central discount ticket booth to scout around for options.

By late afternoon, tickets for Thursday night debuts were selling at half-price and scores of people lined up in the cold to snag seats. Tickets to "Chicago" that typically cost $75 were selling for about $25.

City officials had estimated the strike was costing New York $2 million a day, affecting not only those in the theater industry but also restaurant owners, cab drivers and shop owners.

Last year, Broadway producers reported Thanksgiving-week box-office sales of more than $40 million. This year, it was $7 million.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had offered the services of a municipal mediator, welcomed the agreement as "great news not just for everyone who earns their living on or around Broadway, but for everyone who lives in, works in, or visits New York City."

More than two dozen theatrical productions had been canceled, including acclaimed dramas starring Kevin Kline, Jennifer Garner, Hank Azaria and Bill Pullman that had been expected to draw thousands of tourists. There was a bit of relief last Friday when a judge ordered the cast and crew of "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" back to work the day after Thanksgiving. The children's musical was exempted from the strike because of its limited run, becoming one of the few bright lights on Broadway during a holiday weekend that should have kicked off a lucrative theater season.

The lights were back on for most Thursday, but several plays were forced to push back their opening nights, including Aaron Sorkin's "The Farnsworth Invention," which will open Sunday, and the Mark Twain comedy "Is He Dead?," which will open Dec. 9.

Striking stagehands of Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees had hoped to reach agreement with theater owners before Thanksgiving, but talks fell apart over the number of stagehands required to install and operate sets, lighting, sound and props for a Broadway show.

The union had been holding out for guarantees that a minimum number of stagehands will be employed for each production. But the League of American Theatres and Producers said that some shows can be run by fewer stagehands than the union claims. Both sides reportedly set aside multimillion-dollar strike funds, though the producers had $20 million, about four times as much as the union.

The union also complained that record-high revenue was not trickling down to the workers; the League said profits, despite $100 tickets, were down because of high production costs and the number of shows that closed after unsuccessful runs. The sides said they would not release details about the agreement until the union members vote next month.

Staff writer Robin Shulman contributed to this report.