Lights go out on Broadway due to strike

NEW YORK — From "Wicked" to "The Phantom of the Opera," from "Mamma Mia!" to "Rent," most shows did not go on as Broadway stagehands walked off the job, shutting down more than two dozen plays and musicals.

It was a dramatic, uncertain day in the Times Square area for disappointed theatergoers, who mingled on the streets Saturday while striking Local One stagehands picketed in an orderly fashion behind barricades and declined to talk to reporters. The union had no official comment on the walkout.

No new negotiations have been scheduled between Local One and the League of American Theatres and Producers, so the outlook for a quick settlement looks murky.

The two sides have been in contentious negotiations for more than three months. Much of their disagreements involve work rules and staffing requirements, particularly rules governing the expensive process of loading in and setting up a show. The producers want more flexibility in hiring; the stagehands don't want to give up what they say are hard-won benefits without something in return.

"We must remain committed to achieving a fair contract," Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the league, said. "Our goal is simple: to pay for workers we need and for work that is actually performed."

City officials said Saturday that it was too early to estimate the economic impact of the strike. Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed disappointment that the two sides couldn't settle their differences without a strike, but reiterated, "The city continues to stand ready to help in any way we can."

The work stoppage first affected "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical," a holiday attraction for families that had an early 11 a.m. matinee.

School counselor Vicki Michel, with teacher husband Pat, came to New York from their home in Puyallup, Wash., for a weekend of Broadway shows. The three shows they intended to see were all canceled: "Grinch," "Hairspray" and "Mamma Mia!" They managed to nab tickets to "Young Frankenstein" (which was not affected by the walkout) and the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular," and were headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday instead of the "Grinch."

Outside the Gershwin Theatre where "Wicked" plays, Wanda Antonetti, of DuBois, Pa., and her daughter, Sherry Antonetti, of Dover, Del., contemplated where to shop. They arrived Saturday morning to celebrate Wanda Antonetti's 70th birthday and did not know about the strike until they arrived at the theater. "We came a long way for lunch," Wanda Antonetti said.