The show must go on

Broadway-goers certainly experienced drama when they arrived at theaters last weekend, but unfortunately it was not onstage. Eighteen musicals were shut down between Friday and Monday because of a dispute between theater producers and pit musicians over the minimum number of musicians Broadway houses must hire.

But musicals were up and running again on Tuesday evening after an intervention by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who was concerned that the strike was costing the city's businesses close to $7 million a day in lost revenues. The final compromise set the minimum number of musicians at 18 or 19, depending on the theater, compared to the 24 or 25 required by the prior agreement. The new minimum number will remain in place for 10 years.

Producers originally began talks by suggesting an elimination of minimums altogether, sparking protest from musicians who thought this would eventually lead to the replacement of Broadway's live musicians with virtual orchestras. The musicians' union, The American Federation of Musicians Local 802, voted to authorize a strike on March 2 but agreed to four extra days of negotiation with the producers. By March 7, they had failed to come to an agreement and producers left the talks by offering a minimum of 15, which musicians found unacceptable. Negotiations did not resume until Monday evening.

When Local 802 made the decision to strike on March 7, a slew of labor groups - including the Actors' Equity Association, which represents Broadway performers, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, AFL-CIO and Local One, which represent Broadway's stagehands - quickly voted to uphold the strike in a show of solidarity. Although producers had spent money to have performers rehearse with virtual orchestras in case of a strike, the performers' decision to support musicians meant that producers were forced to close down their shows until an agreement was reached.

Despite the canceled shows, actors, musicians and stagehands arrived at their theaters on schedule for each show to picket, often playing their instruments on the street or singing songs from their shows.

The League of American Theaters and Producers released a statement arguing that "House minimum hiring requirements undermine artistic and financial freedom, and impose financial and creative burdens on producers and their creative teams that exist only to artificially support musician employment."

Producers argued that the minimums were outdated and that the creative team of a musical should have full control of the number of musicians in a pit orchestra. They also cited the average yearly cost of hiring a pit musician - estimated at $88,000 - a cost they said they should not have to bear unless absolutely necessary. The new minimum is expected to save producers about $600,000 per year.

Local 802, supported by Broadway's composers, conductors, orchestrators, actors and stagehands, argued that eliminating minimums would allow producers to replace live music with virtual orchestras and threaten the livelihood of Broadway.

"Our members have made it clear that they do not want to perform to virtual orchestras," said Patrick Quinn, Actors' Equity president, at a press conference during the strike.
"Hairspray" star Harvey Fierstein echoed Quinn, saying, "The virtual orchestras are not live musicians. It is a computer program that makes it sound like a roller rink. It is not a pretty sound."

As a result of the canceled shows, Broadway grosses were down more than $6 million from the previous week, according to The League of American Theaters and Producers, and it is estimated that city businesses lost $10 million in revenue.

Among the 18 musicals that closed during the strike were "Flower Drum Song," which is set to end its run Sunday, and "Urban Cowboy," which only completed four preview performances before the strike. Because the preview period is normally used to fix technical glitches in the show, "Urban Cowboy" has canceled all matinees until their official opening on March 27. Three shows that have not opened on Broadway yet were also affected. "Nine," "Gypsy" and "The Look of Love" were all forced halt their rehearsals but have yet to announce if it will affect their scheduled opening dates.

The last strike of this size on Broadway happened in 1975 and also involved musician minimums, but it lasted nearly three weeks. Actors' Equity has not gone on strike since 1960.