New York City Theater

Now what?

The specific details of the agreement reached between the producers and stagehands have yet to be released. But you've really got to wonder - was this really worth it? for either side?

Did either side "win"? Perhaps the stagehands. For just as the musicians were able to hold on to their minimums system five years ago, though in a somewhat weakened form, it looks as though the stagehands have not been forced to substantially reduce their ranks.

But what's the real loser? We all are. Why? Because Broadway betrayed its audience. And I blame both sides, producers and stagehands, for the strike. Let's remember that a month before the stagehands striked, the producers contemplated locking them out. Instead, they uniterally enforced their proposed contract, a move they must have known would result in this strike.

So what now? How long will it take for the audience to come back? Will WICKED and JERSEY BOYS immediately return to their sold out status? I hear that at Thursday night's performance of CHICAGO, all remaining tickets will be sold for $26.50 in an effort to get people back into the theater.

And what of the four plays and the Disney mega-musical that now need to reschedule their openings? Will all of those happen one on top of the other prior to Christmas? Chances are that those plays will have an even harder time remaining open than anything else. Imagine how much the producers of THE SEAFARER or AIN'T HE DEAD? or AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY have already lost due to the strike. How much more can they afford to lose?

What of the musicals that are not at sell-out status: DROWSY CHAPERONE, LEGALLY BLONDE, HAIRSPRAY, and RENT. All of those were already rumored to be on the verge of shutting down even before the strike occurred.

And here is a scary thought: WILL THIS HAPPEN AGAIN? The actors union will be renegotiating their contract with the producers this summer. You can bet that this strike will substantially affect whatever happens there. Will this make the actors more aggressive? Or maybe the opposite will occur. Who knows.

Let me conclude by reiterating that I totally understand that each side, the producers and stagehands, had valid arguments. And the stagehands had the right to go on strike. But come on.... I cannot honestly believe that both sides could not have arrived at some kind of compromise earlier on.

Broadway is not at the pinnacle of American popular culture. This is not 1955. MY FAIR LADY and CALL ME MADAME are not playing on the radio. We have enough problems to deal with as it is from the outside. Therefore, Broadway should never, ever be the cause if its own demise. As far as I'm concerned, Broadway self-deconstructed over the past 19 days. And why? Because a handful of producers and union leaders took themselves and their pride too seriously.

So what can we, the audience, do to prevent this from ever happening again? Make yourselves heard! Let everyone - producers, stagehands, actors, musicians, everyone - know that you will not tolerate this kind of behavior ever again.

We expect better next time! Anyone who works on Broadway knows how precarious and shaky our existence is. Broadway seriously is a fiddler on the roof, trying to hold on to our traditions while enduring increasingly shaky ground. The folk on Broadway cannot be so selfish ever again.

I remember when I saw my first Broadway show. It was JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING, TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT and I was ten. I saw it in mid-November. What if that day, upon getting to the Minskoff Theater, I found that the stagehands, or the actors, or the musicians, or whomever was striking. Would I ever return to Broadway? Why would I? After all, how could I depend on Broadway ever again?

And while we've heard reports of how much money has been lost in the strike, can someone tell me how many audience members have been lost? How many kids from Nebraska, or Israel, or France, or New Jersey, or wherever? What of the girl that supposed to see WICKED, who would have been inspired to listen to that cast album every day for a solid year, just as I did with JOSEPH? What of the kid who was supposed to see GREASE, who would then have been inspired to try out for his middle school production of GREASE, just as I was when I was 12.

But for now, I say - COME ON ALONG AND LISTEN TO THE LULLABY OF BROADWAY...THE HIP HOORAY AND BALLYHOO, THE LULLABY OF BROADWAY...