What's playing now on Broadway? SELFISHNESS
A lot of people have been asking me whether I side with the League of American Theaters (i.e. the producers) or with Local One (i.e. the stagehands).
What's my answer? Neither. I think both are irresponsible, selfish, and equally deserve the blame for the strike that's now upon us.
Why do I say irresponsible and selfish? They KNEW something like this would happen, whether it be a lockout by the producers or a strike by the stagehands. Each side has amassed a warchest of money in preparation for the event. And instead of COMPROMISING, they have decided to embrace an adversarial attitude and duke it out on the sidewalk.
And who suffers? The audience. I admit, I see Broadway shows every week - at some points it seems like everyday. But I remember when I was ten years old in 1994, going to see my first Broadway matinee. What if I got out of the car with my mother and brother, and we found out it was cancelled due to a strike? What would my first impresison of Broadway have been like? Would I ever bother coming back?
Alas, that is why the stagehands and producers MUST act like adults and come up with a compromise. Does one side really think the other will just roll over? There's too much pride eminating from both sides for something like that to just magically happen.
Frankly, the future of Broadway has more than enough problems on its plate from the outside. When the people who make up Broadway shows deconstruct into chaos, what right do they have to complain of their industry's demise?
IN OTHER WORDS: TODAY, I WATCHED THE PEOPLE ON BROADWAY HELPED SPUR THE DEATH OF BROADWAY. So if you're like me, and you care about Broadway, I say GET ANGRY. But don't point it at one side over the other. Direct it at both sides, till they finally get together and work this s*&t out.